Spirits and Smash: Journey to Dreamland
by Demi10Pinoy
Summary: In the years after the final battle against Dharkon, a disciple resurfaces in Dreamland. Zelda and Kirby must journey half-way across the world to defeat him and save the lives of their closest friends. Over the course of their travels, they encounter, befriend, and fight many different and bizarre characters, some of whom join them on their quest.
1. A Princess Possessed

_After the defeat of Galeem and Dharkon, the lands of Smash were still filled with Spirits. Though many were restored to the real world, some were left in the spiritual form, unable to even be seen. However, in the months that followed, and as the countries and kingdoms began to rebuild, some developed the ability to see and interact with the Spirits. Those certain few eventually developed a relationship with these Spirits, one that the Spirits became dependent on. For some, the Spirit was nothing more than a parasite, feeding off their host and eventually taking over their body. Others found that their relationship with the Spirit was the opposite; the Spirit became an extension of themselves, and they became extremely more powerful as a result._

_The Spirits changed whomever they were paired with, either for better or for worse. But only a few even knew about this development; only a small percentage of people were even able to see the Spirits, let alone interact and develop a bond with them. Because of this, the world of Spirits remained relatively obscure to the public._

_Our story begins four years after the final battle against Dharkon, in a world that has been rebuilt after the chaos of that climatic fight. Spirit Masters, those who have learned to make a Spirit an extension of themselves, are capable of changing the world, though they live in the shadows of society._

* * *

_**PART I: SPIRITUAL POWER AWAKENS**_

"Sir, we've received our intel from Hyrule," somebody in a hood muttered, making sure to cover his face under the moonlight. Stood in front of him, outside of a large, extravagant castle, was a large figure with a hood covering most of its face, but his fangs were visible. The yellow colour of his mouth looked grey because of the night.

Half of those large fangs shifted into a grin, "And…? Has our hero returned from his journey?"

"Yes he has," the smaller figure said, almost in a sigh, "Though he is not a Spirit Master, he is extremely powerful; he relies on his swordsmanship to fight."

"He has not changed at all," said the large figure, "His way of fighting is so primitive… Yet, he is one of the best I've ever faced with a blade."

"That was before you gained your Spirit, sir," the smaller figure moved to face the moon, which was high over the mountains that the castle overlooked, "Nobody can hold a candle to you now."

"Rest up," the large figure advised, "You will go to Hyrule and bring him to me. You can go alone; you're strong enough to handle this mission on your own. I cannot make the journey… My wounds have not fully healed since that day…"

"Of course. You can count on me, Lord Bowser."

* * *

In the rebuilding world, Kirby took his time traveling the world, ranging from the Mushroom Kingdom to the collapsed Kingdom of Ylisse. Before he began his travels, he thought that he had seen everything. However, as he looked to end his four years of traveling in Hyrule, he was about to learn that he had not seen anything yet.

Walking through New Castle Town's market, Kirby rested by the fountain in the middle of the square. Still in it was the crack from a battle Kirby fought alongside Link during the wars against Galeem and Dharkon. He shrugged; his prime was long past, and he did not even want to think about having to punch nor kick. Besides, the final battle, which had killed many, left Kirby unable to fight again.

After spending some of his money on food, Kirby made his way to the castle. He was well-known around Hyrule, so the guards let him through without hassle. He got to the throne room, which was a great, long hall with a bright purple carpet that led to a throne. Behind the throne were stain glass windows with Hylian religious symbols on them. In the center of the hall, Kirby saw Link looking at the throne, where Zelda sat as an advisor counseled her. She wore a white dress with pink dominating most of the torso, and it appeared that she had golden lapels on her shoulders, almost the same colour as her hair. In addition, unlike her predecessor, Zelda had a youthful, naturally joyful face. However, she looked rather bored with her advisor.

"Link," Kirby said, greeting the knight. Link turned and nodded his head with a small smile, "How'd the trip North go?"

"Meh," Link responded, turning back to see the Princess, "There were reports about Spirits "haunting" the Rito Village. But I don't believe in ghost stories."

"Ghost stories? What do you mean by ghost stories? You don't believe that Spirits are around anymore?"

Link shrugged, "I mean… They were describing it as "hauntings" and "possessions". You know, ghost stories you tell around a campfire to scare somebody. If there was something there, it was not a Spirit."

"With the things that I've seen," Kirby replied with a sigh, "I wouldn't rule that out."

Turning to him, Link raised an eyebrow, "What? You think that Spirits, even if they're still around, haunt people and possess them like a demon or something?"

"You ever been to the ruins of New Pork City?" Kirby asked suggestively, "One night there, and you'll believe just about everything."

Link smirked, letting out a chuckle, "I forget how _well-traveled_ you are, friend."

When the advisor left, Kirby and Link walked up to Zelda. She sighed, clearly mentally exhausted from the counseling, but soon changed her expression; she tried to look happy and welcoming. "Kirby," she said, still smiling, "I'm glad you're here."

"Well, it's about time that I visit the rebuilt Hyrule," Kirby said, "I haven't seen you or Link since I began traveling, actually."

"Kirby was just telling me about his time in New Pork City," Link commented, standing as straight as possible. He ran a hand through his long hair, beginning to speak with a clever tone, "Apparently, one night there will _change your life_."

Kirby rolled his eyes, "Not like that."

"Link, my anointed knight," Zelda said, beginning to look down at her feet, "Can I ask a favour?"

By his tone, Link became more formal, "Yes, Your Majesty. What is it?"

"Talk to my father, and he'll give you a package," Zelda began in a dry, orderly tone, "Bring that package to the Temple of Time. I know it's quite a ride from here, I trust you to get this task done as fast as possible?"

"Of course," Link said with an obedient nod of his head. He left the hall as fast as he could, leaving Kirby alone with Zelda.

As a few guards arrived inside, Kirby felt the temperature drop. It took him by surprise; he even skipped a breath. In addition, although it was midday when he came in, the clouds blocked the sun, bringing the hall into an uncomfortable shadow. Zelda took a breath and said, "I apologize in advance for this, Kirby."

"Your letter was very vague," he said, walking away from the throne. With Zelda a few steps behind him, Kirby turned and saw Zelda clasping her hands together in front of the pink part of her dress, just below the shoulder, "When did this… Thing possess you?"

"It happened a few days ago," Zelda said with a sigh, "It's different than being a puppet of Dharkon, though. I don't feel like I'm possessed."

Thinking, Kirby tried to ask another question. But he stopped himself, then he was able to say something, "How did you find out that… A Spirit is with you?"

"I was walking through Hyrule Field…" Zelda told, seemingly getting lost in her story. As she spoke, Kirby gradually backed away, as a purple colour began surrounding her, "Link was still traveling North, so I was out with a few Sheikah. When we passed a small wood, I saw a moblin hunting; he was trying to shoot a boar with a bow. I guess he saw me and charged, overpowering the Sheikah I was with. Now, I could take care of myself, but before I could do anything… Kirby, what are you doing?"

To Zelda's surprise, Kirby was nearly ten feet away from her at this point. He was not even looking at her, but something behind her; there appeared to be a Phantom, horned hat and all. It was massive, towering to be two feet taller than Zelda, and much wider than that. The Phantom's shield was raised, and its sword held high. Then, it charged at Kirby. However, it stopped, the sword mere inches away from him. He looked and saw Zelda clinching her hand.

"That's why I apologized in advance," Zelda sighed, clearly disappointed. The Phantom returned to be behind Zelda, "I can barely control whatever this is…"

Kirby stared at the Phantom in awe; it disappeared within seconds as Zelda took a breath, "Incredible…" Kirby muttered, approaching Zelda again. She was slightly embarrassed that she almost killed her friend, "You've said this only began happening a few days ago?"

"I started to see Spirits a few times a day at the beginning of the year," Zelda explained, "I've never been able to interact with them until the moblin attacked me."

Nodding, Kirby said, "You have to come with me; I know exactly who you need to talk to."

She shook her head quickly and said, "I can't just leave. I have responsibilities here, Kirby; I'm a princess. Can you at least tell me what's going on with me?"

"A Spirit seems to have attached itself to you," Kirby said, trying to be as brief as possible, "And it's not leaching off your life force, which is good. But you have to learn how to control it, and I can't teach you that. I can only see Spirits. I can, however, take you to a Spirit Master."

"Even if you've lost some of your fighting skills, you haven't lost your head," Zelda commented, "I guess that you've gotten smarter since you started traveling?"

Kirby responded with a laugh, "Well, Dreamland's full of lazy idiots. You can say that I'm more… _Knowledgeable_."

* * *

Around sunset, Zelda returned to the great hall. Link had not returned to her after his task was complete, but she had seen him talking to her father outside the castle's gate. She had seen it from her room, a place she regularly read in. However, all the books in the castle's library had not prepared her for the so-called Spirit that possessed her. After all, Kirby said something about a life force and Spirit Master. Both of these things were never mentioned in all the scholarly books and articles she was familiar with. However, ever since the wars against Galeem and Dharkon, Zelda trusted Kirby with her life.

She remembered being possessed by the forces loyal to Dharkon; it was a feeling of powerlessness as they used her body like a puppet. When Kirby and company appeared out of nowhere, she had no control in their fight. She only remembers witnessing Kirby, Link, Peach, Mario, and Bowser approaching her. Then, she was back to her senses, her anointed knight holding her in his arms. However, as Kirby filled her in on the whereabouts of others, such as Samus and Marth, she noticed Bowser had vanished.

After that point, Zelda traveled alongside Kirby, Link, Peach, and Mario, forming a bond with all of them. Besides Link, Kirby was the one she kept in contact with most; Peach and Mario were often too busy, trying to rebuild the Mushroom Kingdom. Kirby always seemed to know what was going on around the world.

Dusk quickly set in, but some orange light from the sunset still broke through the stain glass windows behind the throne. "Princess? What are you doing here?" Kirby said, entering the hall from the side across from Zelda.

"I thought Link would be in here; I haven't seen him since I sent him to the Temple of Time," Zelda said, "Do you know where he is?"

"He went back, actually," Kirby told, "I think your dad sent him."

"Do you know why? He was there earlier," Zelda pondered, "It takes about an hour to get there by horse… Why would he be sent back?"

"Before I forget," Kirby said, "I was just talking to Mario. He said that he'd get us in touch with a Spirit Master."

She turned to Kirby, looking at him oddly, "Mario's a Spirit Master?" she shrugged, "You know what? That makes sense…"

"I didn't say that," Kirby replied, "I said he knows someone that can help you learn how to control your Spirit."

Suddenly, a voice spoke up, it's condescending tone echoing in the hall, "Oh? Does the Princess have a Spirit, now?"

Kirby and Zelda both turned quickly, as they recognized the voice as soon as the person spoke. It was the voice of a man whom they both had a hatred for. At the entrance of the hall was a cloaked figure, who appeared to be short and wide. Once the hood was removed, Zelda clinched her fist.

"Wario, the man who sided with Dharkon," Kirby sighed heavily. He stepped in front of Zelda just as royal guards began pouring into the hall, "What are you doing here? I thought you'd still be hiding in shame."

"The decision that _we_ made only made us more powerful after the Dark Lord was defeated," Wario said, basically waddling further into the hall as he adjusted his yellow cap, "Y'know, the Lord Bowser grows stronger by the day. And, he is in the need of some Spirits."

"There are thousands of Spirits roaming around; I'm sure you'd find ten closer to wherever you hide," Kirby fired back, clearly making each word count in his verbal spar, "I'll ask you again; what are you doing here?"

"Low-life Spirits are not good enough for Lord Bowser," Wario said, stopping in his tracks. Kirby and Zelda looked ahead, seeing a trail of bodies left behind by Wario. As the royal guards began closing in on him, Wario's body began to glow with purple energy, "He sent me to retrieve the Hero of Hyrule, but it seems that he is not here. Then again, you and Zelda will more-than make-up for it."

"You're a Spirit Master now?" Kirby said, trying to get himself mentally ready to fight.

"Like I said, I am infinitely more powerful thanks to Dharkon and his successor, _Lord Bowser_," Wario muttered, a toothy grin appearing on his face. He threw both his hands down to his side and shouted, "PURPLE PLUMBER!"

Suddenly, much like the Phantom, an apparition appeared out of nowhere and launched forward, knocking down all the guards. Zelda barely stayed on her feet, but Kirby was knocked onto his side. She helped Kirby rise, and both looked straight ahead: in front of them was a purple Spirit, on with a large nose, zig-zag mustache, and long, brown hair. He appeared as a large, muscular man wielding a tennis racket and wearing overalls as well as a purple hat.

"Waluigi… Is your Spirit?" Kirby muttered, struggling to his feet. He looked away, muttering, "This is ridiculous… Never in my travels have I seen something so bizarre, yet so fitting…"

"Unfortunately, Waluigi did not survive the war against Galeem," Wario said, flicking his wrist. The Purple Plumber Spirit moved forward just as Zelda unclenched her hand. Kirby was too in the moment to see that energy began forming around her, "However, Purple Plumber is one of the strongest Spirits there is. He may not have a strong attack, but he is incredibly quick; he'll make you miss, then he'll make you pay with his tennis racket! I'm surprised, Kirby, that you can see my Spirit. Regardless, you're coming with me conscious or unconscious. Really, I'm fine with either. Now, let's see how you can handle my attack! Purple Plumber—"

Almost as sudden as Wario's first attack, Zelda flung her finger forward, hurling her Phantom into the Purple Plumber. The strike was powerful, knocking Wario's Spirit back. Kirby looked ahead, seeing Wario grab his arm in pain; the strike on his Spirit damaged his own person.

"Clever. You got him monologuing," Kirby said with a grin. Zelda panted, letting her Phantom relax, "That gave you time to land a powerful attack on him. If anything, the element of surprise made it hurt more."

"Damn you! You got me monologuing!" Wario shouted, but Kirby interrupted him.

"I literally just said that!"

"SHUT UP! NO MORE MONOLOGUING!" Wario screamed, clearly enraged by the attack. He shook his arm, and Purple Plumber reset, "Your Spirit maybe incredibly strong, but that attack did take some time to land. Let's see how you like this! SHOWTIME!"

Zelda watched Wario's Spirit move incredibly quickly, dodging several swings from the Phantom. Her attempts left an opening, and Wario took advantage of it; Purple Plumber landed several strikes onto the Phantom, some punches, some kicks, and some wacks with the tennis racket. Zelda felt all those strikes in her side, falling to a knee.

"Damn! Zelda's Spirit may be strong, but it doesn't have the quickness to protect itself from Wario's Spirit," Kirby said, helping Zelda up as her Phantom landed a strike onto Purple Plumber, "His attacks aren't powerful, but they are so quick and there are so many."

"I have an idea," Zelda said, flinging her fingers around, trying to control her Phantom. Sweat began streaming down her face. However, the Phantom was to slow, and Wario shouted another attack. Purple Plumber stomped onto Phantom's arm, stunning Zelda for a second. She then was launched into a wall just as Wario's Spirit smacked the tennis racket into the Phantom, making it crumble.

"Zelda!" Kirby shouted, running over to her. As Zelda struggled to her feet, Purple Plumber disappeared, leaving a bed of roses where he once was. He turned to Wario, who looked bored.

"I feel like I'm wasting my time here," Wario said, picking up a rose, "You took me by surprise, Princess; you are strong, but I can tell you're inexperienced. Your Spirit will simply not suffice Lord Bowser's."

Zelda tried to stand, with Kirby's help, but she fell back down. As she tried to clench her hands again in the rubble, she panted, "Don't you dare touch my anointed knight."

"Cute language, but you can't do anything about it," Wario said, seeing Zelda's energy appear again. Zelda did not notice, but Wario rolled his eyes, and muttered, "Purple Plumber."

"Zelda, stop it. He'll kill you if you're not careful," Kirby said, "You said it yourself; you're a Princess! You have other responsibilities!"

Ignoring Kirby, Zelda sprung up quickly and flung her arm forward. However, as her Phantom launched, swinging its sword upward, Purple Plumber appeared in front of Wario. His Spirit swung its tennis racket, smacking the Phantom again. However, this time, Zelda felt her left arm shatter. As she screamed in pain, Wario muttered, "Such a shame," letting Purple Plumber break his racket on the Phantom's head. As the Phantom crumbled again, Zelda fell to the ground unconscious.

"Princess Zelda!" Kirby shouted, trying to wake her up. As Wario scoffed and walked towards the exit, Kirby muttered, "In my prime, I would have eviscerated you the moment you came in."

* * *

The next morning, Princess Zelda woke up from the sounds of a fairy. She saw the pink fairy flying around her head, seemingly healing her wounds. She looked down at her arm, seeing another three fairies dancing around it. It was not shattered anymore, but it was still sore and noticeably bruised. She sat up as much as she could, only to hear Kirby say, "Relax, Zelda. You're still pretty beat up."

"What happened to Link?" Zelda asked, clearly ignoring his advice. Sighing, Kirby looked out the window near her bed, which was in some sort of hospital.

"Wario tore through Link's brigade at the Temple of Time," Kirby told, "It wasn't even a fight."

"Did he…?" Zelda asked, stopping herself in shock.

"No, no. Link's alive," Kirby said, "He's… He's just Wario's prisoner now."

She closed her eyes, clearly frustrated and angry. How could Wario, some coward from the wars against Galeem and Dharkon, single-handedly take out all her royal guard, nearly kill her and Kirby, then kidnap Link, the Hero of Hyrule?

"Zelda, listen," Kirby continued, "I've seen some things in my travels. But what I saw with that Spirit fight was… It was something I had never even comprehended before. Like, I've seen other Spirit Masters use their Spirits for goofs and jokes, or to put somebody in their place, but… Never in my life have I seen a Spirit Master fight another."

"Spirit Master? I'm not a Spirit Master," Zelda said, letting her frustration show, "Sure, I was a little clever, but I couldn't actually fight. Once Wario rattled me, I couldn't recover… Now Link's been kidnapped, and it's all my fault because I don't know how to use this… Spirit or whatever the hell it is…"

Thinking hard, Kirby smirked at Zelda. She returned this gaze and said, "Why are you looking at me like that? If you didn't notice, we're in a really bad situation, and you look like you're trying to make this a whole joke."

"Remember what I said last night?" Kirby asked Zelda, still smirking, "I know someone who could teach you to control your Spirit."

"Teach me?" Zelda asked, looking at Kirby oddly. She looked, down, thinking, "Right… You mentioned that yesterday…"

"We'll set out for the Mushroom Kingdom as soon as you get better," Kirby said, "A train to Mushroom City takes four hours, maybe five. I have a feeling that you're going to have to fight Wario again."

"That fat…." Zelda stopped herself, almost biting her tongue, "I'm going to make him regret not killing me when he had the chance."

Sighing, Kirby walked away from Zelda's bed as she began brooding. As he turned the corner, Kirby thought to himself, 'I thought Bowser was dead, and the same about Wario, Falco, K. Rool… Those with weak minds were easily seduced by Dharkon… Does that mean they're all Spirit Masters, using their powers working for this _Cult of Lord Bowser_? Good grief… I never wanted to fight again after the final battle… But I guess my trip to Hyrule has to be cut short.'


	2. Spirit Training

While aboard the train, Zelda sipped on a cup of tea as Kirby looked outside, seeing the passing scenery of North Hyrule. Eventually, it would turn into the Mushroom Kingdom; luckily, they only had to travel north, not west nor east. Their cabin, obviously a class above first class, was fairly large for two people, containing enough room for a private bar and a few other seats reserved for Zelda's guard. However, those seats were left empty for now.

"First time riding in the Royal Family's cabin?" Zelda asked, putting her tea down onto the table between her and Kirby.

"Obviously," Kirby said, "I always like to walk places. But, if I'm feeling spoiled, I buy myself a regular ticket for the train."

"Spoiled? Are you saying I'm spoiled?" Zelda asked, sipping her tea again. From her tone, he could tell that it was a joke.

Returning his gaze to the Princess, Kirby did not acknowledge the joke. Instead, he changed the subject, "When we get to the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario and Luigi are meeting us at the train station. They'll take us to the Spirit Master, who will begin training you as soon as we get there."

"Sweet, I don't get any time to rest," Zelda commented, rather annoyed, "Why do you keep call him, or her—or it—just a Spirit Master? Who is this Spirit Master you keep talking about?"

"I want it to be a surprise; you'd be astonished to learn how many people you know have become Spirit Masters," Kirby replied, recalling his travels, "I've encountered many of them, their strength differing from one Spirit to another. Not all are created equal, Princess; one Spirit may have brute strength and defense like your Phantom. Others may be weak fighters, but their true strength comes from the mind. I'll stop talking for now; she will give you the whole lesson about Spirits."

Raising an eyebrow, Zelda smirked, "Oh? It's a she, now?"

* * *

As Wario made a campfire, Link was perched up on a log; his Master Sword and shield were down next to him, and his entire body was tied with very thick rope. Wario's Spirit had hurt him in their battle at the Temple of Time; as it buried Link with punches and wacks from it's seemingly hardening tennis racket, the Temple around them began to collapse from the sheer energy of the Spirit. He now regretted going back to the Temple of Time; he should have defied the King of Hyrule when he had the chance.

After many attempts at starting a fire, Wario shouted in frustration. He kicked the pile of sticks that he laid down earlier and grunted, "Purple Plumber."

"I have no idea what you're trying to do right now, but you suck at making a campfire," Link snapped, fidgeting in his seat in attempt to break free from his ropes, "Where's your flint? Steel? Maybe you have a lighter, or a few matches? Rubbing two sticks together won't do anything!"

"Shut up," Wario responded, energy seemingly coming off him. Because he could not see Spirits, Link thought Wario was preparing for an attack, so he spoke incredibly quick.

"You're a coward if you attack a man who is defenseless! Then again, I should now better than to expect more from a man who betrayed us for Dharkon," Link spat, still trying to break free. He opened his mouth to speak again, but an invisible force swiftly slapped Link in the face. Link fell off the log, onto his side; it felt like an iron bar just knocked him in the side off the head.

"You had to keep talking, huh?" Wario sighed, his Spirit putting the racket down and grabbing the Master Sword. In Link's vision, however, his sword unsheathed itself midair and began floating towards Wario.

Disgusted, Link screamed, "You're doing that thing again! What kind of sorcery us this?!"

"My god, you sound like an ignorant sack of bricks," Wario stopped himself while Purple Plumber used the Master Sword to start a campfire, "Though you are a courageous knight, you lack a fundamental understanding about the world we live in. Blind ignorance is the worst kind. Enjoy a night of sleep on the ground, Link. Serves you right for not knowing when to keep your mouth shut…"

* * *

After their arrival to the train station, the Mario Brothers had met them, as Kirby originally planned. They strolled through the station, which was very close to Peach's castle. Kirby and Mario began catching up rather quickly, walking ahead of Zelda and Luigi. The first thing Zelda noticed about Luigi was his growth; though he was around the same height, she could tell that he gained more definition around his arms since she last saw him.

"Kirby keeps telling me about the Spirit Master who will train me," Zelda said as the morning sun continued to rise. As the temperature slightly spiked, they finally got close to the castle. It was still a distance away, but it was now in sight, "Do you know who he is talking about?"

"Princess Peach, without a doubt," Luigi said immediately. Zelda drew back a little; the sudden admiration in his voice spoke volumes, "She was one of the first to control her Spirit. When I learned that I had a Spirit with me, she helped train me to control it. Despite our Spirits being incredibly different, and our life forces differing, she had taught me a lot."

All these terms kept getting throne around, but Zelda had no idea what they meant. She sighed, clearly getting frustrated, "Can you tell me what a life force is? Kirby kept mentioning it, but—"

"It's quite simple," Luigi said blankly, "Life force is the spiritual strength of an individual. Spirits attach themselves to those with similar life forces. That can be good, like Princess Peach, or it can be bad, like…"

"Like who?" Zelda asked, looking at Luigi's sudden stark expression.

"…We should get to the castle…"

* * *

A few minutes after arriving at the castle, Mario and Luigi stood in the courtyard next to Kirby. They seemed to have distanced themselves from Zelda, who stood in front of the door that lead to the great hall. The courtyard, which only had a few low hedges and trees, was incredibly large and flat. The shadows from the trees went away when the sun disappeared behind a few clouds; and, it seemed, as the shadows disappeared, Luigi closed his eyes.

"Why are we standing so far from Zelda?" Kirby asked, confused. However, it did not look like Zelda noticed this distance.

Mario shrugged as Luigi closed his eyes, "This is her first test; it will start as soon as the sun appears once again."

"Her first test? Her training hasn't even started yet! And Peach wants to test her already?" Kirby snapped, looking up at Mario, "Are you crazy!?"

"Don't yell at me; I can't even see Spirits," Mario responded quickly, "It was Peach's idea; she wants to see how strong she is, or something like that…"

"This can be really bad…" Kirby sighed. He turned to Luigi, seeing that he still had his eyes closed, "What's going on with you? Are you going to fight her too? You're a Spirit Master, aren't you?"

When Luigi did not respond, Kirby turned back to Zelda, muttering, "Jackass…"

Zelda stood in front of the door, confused as to what was going on; she almost called to Kirby, Mario, and Luigi, wondering why they were so far away. However, before she could say something, the doors to the castle burst opened. Out of them, a pink Spirit flew out at Zelda. Quickly, Zelda dodged it, falling onto the ground to her right. When she got up, she saw Princess Peach in the courtyard; she had a pink energy radiating off her. It seemed to affect her much more than the purple energy affected Wario, as her hair seemed like it was being blown by the sheer energy. Her eyes, too, seemed to turn pink. And, behind Peach, appeared the same pink Spirit that attacked her. It was a standard red Toad, but it looked incredibly angry. Though it took Zelda a second, she saw that the Toad Spirit was almost the same size as her Phantom.

"Princess Zelda, welcome to your training," Peach said, her face neutral and focused, "Let's see what you're made of."

"Look, I think this is moving a little fast," Zelda responded, slowly walking back with her hands up. However, as Kirby noticed, she began to look angrier by the second, "I don't even know how to fully control… Whatever the hell is happening to me."

"The best way to learn is to do it yourself," Peach told, "You know… Trial by fire."

"What's wrong with Peach?" Kirby muttered, basically talking to himself, "There was no introduction, no catching up, no pleasantries… She just jumped right into it and nearly destroyed Zelda."

"You really haven't been around for a long time, huh?" Mario said, with a chuckle, "Things have changed in the past three years."

Turning around to face him, Kirby responded, "Obviously. Luigi won't even talk to me, Peach has clearly lost it… At least you're still the same."

"Ever since she learned how to master her Spirit, Peach has become very rough around the edges," Mario said, slightly annoyed, "She brags about how it's changed her for the better; she's tougher now, more respected among her people. Albeit, it's in such a condescending tone, like she's talking down to me."

Kirby turned back to the battle, "Dharkon and Galeem really changed her…"

"There's no need to overreact, Kirby; it changed all of us," Luigi suddenly muttered, opening his eyes. He turned to the battle, watching Zelda crossing her arms as the Phantom appeared behind her, "I can tell you about Zelda's Spirit; PHANTOM WARRIOR. It's strength and armour are unprecedented, and its attacks are incredibly powerful. However, its strength is also it's weakness: because it is so large, it cannot move very well. With training, she will be able to… Lessen the affect of its weakness. You understand?"

"What can you tell me about Peach's Spirit?" Kirby asked.

Seemingly on cue, Zelda threw her arm forward, launching the Phantom at Peach. Peach did not move, but her Spirit stepped through her and caught the Phantom's sword with ease. "What!? I've seen that same attack knock Wario's Spirit back; it nearly shattered Wario's arm in the process! How did that Spirit just catch the sword so casually!?" shouted Kirby.

"There's no way…" Zelda muttered, lowing her arm in shock, "How… Did…?"

"Lesson one to fighting Spirit Masters: think like your opponent," Peach said, still standing still. Her Spirit twisted the Phantom's arm, making Zelda shout in pain. When the Toad punched the Phantom across the face, Zelda flew back along with her Phantom. While she rose, Peach took a step forward, her Spirit returning to be behind her, "You must spend the first portion of your fight closely studying the enemy Spirit; know their advantages and weaknesses as if they are your own."

"You are the worst teacher in the world," Zelda muttered, steadying her feet, "Is your idea of teaching just beating up on your student?"

"Yes."

Again, Zelda flung her arm forward, sending her Phantom hurling forward. However, Peach's Spirit again caught the sword, but grabbed the Phantom this time. After a few pummels, the Toad launched the Phantom backwards, sending Zelda to the other side of the courtyard. As she rolled around in pain, coming to her knees, Peach looked down at her hand; there was a deep gash in it, from the powerful slash her Spirit caught.

"Any injury received by the Spirit affects the user," Luigi spoke, watching Kirby's reaction to Zelda struggling, "That's what makes Peach's Spirit so strong: AKA KINOPIO. Its attacks are average at best, but it thrives when the opponent attacks first. Unlike other defensive Spirits, Aka Kinopio bears the brunt of the damage. But that damage only makes the counter attacks more powerful."

"At this rate, Zelda stands no chance," Kirby sighed, "She's only executed one attack. Does she know any more? Besides a few swings and launching it forward, what else can Zelda's Spirit do?"

"Your narration is getting a little annoying, Kirby; like, we're all watching the same fight," Mario commented, watching the battle with his hands on his hips, bored.

After she pushed herself to her feet, Zelda staggered as Peach stood perfectly still, much like she had been. Although she seemed calm, Zelda noticed that Peach was hurt; her white gloves turned red near the palms. This gave Zelda some confidence, "You are strong, but inexperienced," Peach began, though Zelda did not listen to anything after that. Instead she crossed her arms, allowing the Phantom to form behind her.

"How many times are you going to shoot yourself in the foot!? Stop using that one attack!" Kirby shouted.

Zelda did not listen, however. She flung her arm forward, and the Phantom launched forward, its sword swinging downward. Again, Peach's Spirit went to catch the blade and counter. However, as soon as Aka Kinopio put his hand up to catch the blade, it did not come. "What?" Peach muttered, her face becoming confused. Then, a second later, the blade of the Phantom swung downward, knocking the Toad into the ground. Though Peach did not move, Zelda saw a large, fresh bruise appear on her arm, and it seemed her lip was cut.

"Wait… Did…" Kirby said, muttering, "Did Zelda just delay her attack?"

"Of course…" Luigi muttered also, quite shocked, "By delaying her attack by a split-second, she allowed Aka Kinopio's speed and power to pass. Then, she attacked while he stood completely still. Clever move by the neophyte…"

"I have no clue what any of you are talking about…" Mario said, looking on with very little care.

Smirking now, Zelda watched as the Phantom pummeled Aka Kinopio on the ground. After a few seconds, Peach's Spirit disappeared. Following suit, Zelda made her Spirit disappear. Peach slowly approached her, clearly hurt from their fight. And, closely behind her, Mario, Luigi, and Kirby followed.

"You did well for your first test," Peach said, "You're quick, smart, but most importantly, you're resilient."

Nodding, Zelda said, "Well, you know me…"

"Let's get some rest now… I think we both need it," Peach advised, "We'll discuss the minor details about Spirits over dinner."

* * *

Weeks passed, as did training sessions. Zelda was able to learn much from both Peach and Luigi; she was told that her Spirit's name was PHANTOM WARRIOR. While Kirby could not train with her, he took every opportunity to learn more about life force and Spirits. According to Luigi, who offered a deeper understanding of it, life force directly links to the power of the Spirits. To manifest the Spirit, an individual uses their life force, which shows from the different coloured energies radiating off Spirit Masters. In between these "classroom sessions", Zelda had training sessions, learning the different attacks her Spirit could execute.

Her sudden entry into the world of Spirits and Spirit Masters often kept her up a night. How odd it was that, by way of being attacked by Wario, an adversary she assumed was dead or disgraced, or both, she was able to manifest a Spirit into existence and control it with nothing more than her own life force. After adventuring with Mario, Link, Kirby, and Peach through the Dark Realm of Dharkon and his minions, now known as his disciples, she thought nothing would surprise her again. Yet, here she was.

As Zelda crossed her arms, making Phantom Warrior appear, Peach stood behind her along with Kirby and Mario. "Now, in your mind's eyes, execute the attack and your Spirit will follow," Peach ordered, though her tone was more helpful than commanding.

"Jesus," Mario cussed, "In your mind's eyes… Isn't this just so ridiculous?"

"Ridiculous, yes… But, at the same time, it's still happening," Kirby said, hearing Zelda say 'Wisdom Slash', then seeing her Spirit send a curved blue beam of energy out of its sword, "If you could see what I could see, you'd feel different."

"Between you and me, Kirby," Mario said, quietening his voice, "ever since we defeated Dharkon, and Luigi and Peach became glorified wizards, they've become so… Serious."

"Trust me, I've seen it," Kirby replied, still watching Zelda order her Spirit around flawlessly, "Luigi won't even talk to me about the times before Galeem and Dharkon…"

"Same goes with Peach," muttered Mario, somewhat annoyed and disappointed at the same time, "It's like they're different people."

Once Zelda relaxed, Peach nodded, "Very good. You're getting better by the day."

"I feel stronger," Zelda said with a smile, "Do I look like it?"

"Your Spirit moves with three times amount of quickness as before," somebody said from behind. The four of them turned around and saw Luigi standing there, wearing a beige cloack that covered his entire body. He wore no hat, but in it's place a green headband, which made his brown hair stand up.

"Oh my god… What the hell are you wearing?" Mario said, trying not to burst out into laughter. Much like him, Kirby too began laughing. However, when he saw Luigi staring at Mario, annoyance in his eyes, Kirby stopped.

Luigi rolled his eyes and turned to Peach and Zelda, "I'm impressed you've progressed this far in only four weeks. And your progression comes at a very opportune time."

"We get it, you read," Mario commented, scoffing in the process. However, when he saw nobody laughing, he straightened up.

"Would you stop acting like a jackass for five minutes?" Luigi muttered, gritting his teeth. He quickly reset, "Anyways, we have a location on Bowser. That's where Link is, right?"

"Yeah," Zelda nodded, taking a breath to calm herself, "Apparently, Bowser feeds on brave souls, or something…"

Both Luigi and Peach spoke at the same time, but they both stopped when they realized it. Luigi put his hand up, letting Peach speak. "It's not souls he feeds on," Peach began, "Bowser is a Spirit Master. But, because he sided with Dharkon, his Spirit is completely parasitic. Once it consumed Bowser's life force entirely, he became something else… A being without obvious flaws, if you will…"

"So, what you're saying is… Bowser is immortal?" Kirby responded, skeptical though shocked.

Clearly affected by this story, Peach took a long, slow breath before continuing, "Not quiet. Though we don't know what his Spirit is, we do know he possesses one of the most powerful Spirits in the world. If he no longer feeds off the life force of low-level Spirits, and he targets the life force of people like Link, he is almost at full power again. And, when that time comes, he will become a perfect being physically. However, his weakness is his mind; he lost his sanity long ago."

"…So, Bowser feeds off the life force of other beings, and when he is at perfect health, he's more-or-less immortal… Wouldn't that make him a vampire?" Zelda said, thinking allowed, "In that case, call the Belmont's."

"They haven't been seen since the final battle," Luigi quickly dismissed, "Bowser knows if Peach or I will move against him, so you're our only hope; he does not know you have a Spirit."

"Great," Kirby said, speaking up. When he had everyone's attention, he said, "So, Zelda is the only one who can move against a nearly immortal vampire? Not the strongest Spirit Master in the Mushroom Kingdom, or her calculating sidekick? Can you at least come with us?"

"I'm afraid we can't," Luigi shook his head, "Bowser can track our movements with ease; he has spies everywhere."

Sighing, Kirby muttered, "Good grief…"

"I don't think we have much of a choice," Zelda responded, looking at Luigi, "Where is Bowser?"

"He resides at Castle Dedede in Dreamland," Luigi explained, "After Dedede disappeared, Dreamland fell into complete chaos, and he uses that to his advantage."

"There's a reason that I never went back…" Kirby said. Reluctantly, he began walking to the castle, "We should be on our way in the next day, huh?"

"Do you know the quickest route to Dreamland?" Luigi asked, "Because you're going to have to cross an ocean, then an entire continent—"

Sighing again, Kirby said, "Of course I remember how to travel to Dreamland… It's… _It's my home_."

As Kirby went inside, cussing under his breath, Zelda pondered, "I wonder why he has never been back to Dreamland… It has to be more than the people, right?"

Shrugging, Mario said, "Never underestimate Kirby's ability to hold a grudge."


	3. The Knight From Elibe

Because of the nature of his Spirit, Bowser's chamber was in complete darkness. Even the lights from the hallway were far too much for him to handle; he had been healing for several years, since the final battle in Dharkon's realm. That left him, and those who joined his ranks, utterly destroyed. His health was improving, but it was still painful.

The door opened, and two people wearing robes stepped into the chamber. Bowser turned towards them, letting the shadows cover his scarred face. "I sense that Toadstool has been training another," he said, his voice low and commanding, "And the Green Plumber with her."

"Should we make a move against them, Lord Bowser?" the smaller asked, adjusting his hood with his blue fingers, "Princess Peach is one of the most powerful Spirit Masters in the world. If we can kill her—"

"I am the only one who is comparable to her," Bowser said suddenly, interrupting the smaller with his raspy voice, "That said, we can take her by surprise."

"How do you propose we do that, sir?" the other asked.

He let out a small chuckle, then turned away from his disciples, "Wario has already taken care of it. He's used my influence and sent _The Knight From Elibe_ to the castle. Toadstool is extremely powerful—I'll give credit where credit is due—but, she cannot detect those directly under my control. If he cannot kill the Princess, he will do enough damage to force her into… A rash decision."

"In the event that this rash decision is made," the smaller began, "What will we do?"

"Both of you will put a stop to this before they cross the ocean," Bowser said rather plainly, "You are dismissed; I need to keep resting. Wario will return in two weeks time with our Hero. Then, I will feast on his life force."

* * *

Zelda woke up in her bed before dawn. It was the morning that she and Kirby were going to leave for Dreamland; she had a few hours until then. However, she could not go back to sleep. There was a bad feeling in her stomach, as if something were going to happen very soon. So, Zelda stretched, put her slippers on, and, still in her pajamas, stepped out of her guest room, into a hallway that was only lit by candlelight.

The hall was scarcely lit, as there were no windows. Each painting on the walls seemed to be accompanied by it's very own lantern post. As Zelda walked down the hall, along the red carpet of the castle, she saw one of the doors in the distance open. From there, Zelda heard a few voices. She tied her hair back and walked, listening closely: it was the voice of the Mario brothers.

"I don't care what Princess Peach says; I can help them on their journey," Mario said, apparently arguing with his brother, "We've been on countless adventures, bro. I don't see why you think I can't go."

She heard Luigi sigh and say, "You don't have a Spirit—"

"Neither does Kirby! You think Kirby is better equipped on the road than I am?"

"Mario, this isn't about him; it's about you. I know for a fact that Bowser can track Peach and I—I've known that for years. I don't know if he can track you. If he can, then he will send Spirit Master after Spirit Master after you."

"And? I don't see the problem here. I've traveled—no, we've traveled—across the Mushroom Kingdom so many times. In fact, it was to save the very person that thinks I'm not capable of surviving an adventure!"

"When was our last adventure to the Koopa Kingdom? You haven't been out on an adventure since—!"

Zelda accidentally tripped on the carpet, landing on the ground loudly. Both the brothers stopped talking, and Luigi stepped outside, still in his cloak. When he saw Zelda on the ground, he helped her up, "What are you doing out here, Princess? It's five in the morning."

She shrugged, "I woke up… I have this bad feeling in my stomach…"

"You getting sick?" Mario asked, still in the room; it must have been Luigi's study, as two of the walls were occupied with book shelves. The desk in the middle had many stacks of papers scattered across it.

Zelda shook her head, "No, no… I don't know why I have this feeling, but it's not a sickness."

"You're nervous," Luigi deduced quickly, "Come in. Sit down for a bit. Mario and I are just talking."

"No, our conversation is done," Mario responded, leaving the room. He looked at Zelda and said, "I'm coming with you and Kirby. I think I can help you guys on the road."

Zelda nodded in thanks as Luigi sighed, looking down at the ground. However, before he could say anything, Mario left. He helped Zelda into his study, sitting her down across from his fireplace, which was in full affect. While Zelda took in the warm atmosphere, Luigi closed his eyes. In front of Zelda appeared a being engulfed in green energy; it looked about her size, but it wore a dark black cloak. On its head was a black hat, covering its eyes was a black mask. Zelda looked at it as it grabbed a book off the shelf.

"Is that your Spirit, Luigi?" Zelda asked, studying it intently.

Luigi nodded as the Spirit grasped the book by the spine for several seconds. It put the book back onto the shelf, then grabbed another book, "My Spirit is not like yours nor Peach's. My Spirit, MR. L, is a scholarly one; by merely grasping a book by its spine for a few seconds, I can take whatever information from it I need. It is a weak Spirit, but because of it's relatively low power, I can control it from hundreds of feet away, even thousands."

"That's how you know so much about an individual's Spirit? You can trust Mr. L to find it for you?" Zelda asked, watching Luigi's Spirit grip a book's spine with three fingers.

"Each Spirit has their own strengths and weaknesses," Luigi answered, "Powerful Spirits require its Master to be close by. Weaker ones, like mine, can be used from a great distance."

"Interesting… Is there, like, a book with all the Spirit's information?" Zelda asked.

Luigi smiled at Zelda as he snapped his fingers. Mr. L, suddenly, presented Zelda with a large book with an ancient language on the front cover. She opened it, noting that there were around a thousand pages in it, maybe more. When she skimmed through the book, she saw that all of the text was written in the same language from the cover. "Your Spirit can translate all of this text as well?" Zelda asked.

"Like I said, my Spirit is very scholarly," he nodded. Before he could speak again, they both heard a scream. Quickly, Mr. L vanished as Luigi ran out of his study, followed by Zelda, "What was that?"

"It sounded like a man screaming in pain," Zelda thought aloud, "But, where did it come from?"

Again, there was a scream; this time, however, it sounded like Peach. It seemed that Luigi knew where it was coming from, as he took off in the direction of Peach's room. Zelda followed closely behind as Luigi ran up a large spiral staircase. When they reached the top of the staircase, they saw Peach's door wide open. Then, through the door, they saw Peach get flung into a wall.

"Peach!" Luigi shouted, running into the room. When Zelda stepped inside, she saw Mario on the ground, breathing heavily, something attached to his neck. As Luigi helped Peach to her feet, Zelda saw the attacker standing behind Mario. He wore green and gold armor, and his eyes looked yellow, reminding Zelda of Dharkon's minions. Under the attacker's headband, which made his red, messy hair stand up, he had a noticeable purple growth.

"Roy? What's going on…?" Zelda muttered, looking across at Roy. He began walking toward her, his sword nowhere to be seen.

Peach muttered, struggling to her feet, "Roy's not a Spirit Master, but that growth on his head has given him a Spirit…"

"It's the work of Bowser," Luigi suggested, studying the growth. He closed his eyes, and, reacting to this, green life energy began seeping off Roy.

"His going to use a Spirit!" Zelda shouted, beginning to cross her arms. As her Spirit began forming behind her, she heard Peach walk to be next to her, "Phantom Warrior!" Zelda called, flinging her arm forward.

As her Spirit launched forward, swinging its sword sideways, Roy blocked the attack with something. "Careful, now," Peach warned, "His Spirit is not like ours; it's his sword."

"His sword is a Spirit!?" Zelda said loudly, snapping a look of surprise at Zelda. Seemingly on cue, Roy presented his sword, which had flames coming off the blade, and struck Phantom Warrior in the shield. Making her Spirit shove Roy back, Zelda pointed her finger ahead. Her Spirit, responding, pointed its sword at Roy, sending a beam of light out of the tip. Roy grunted, crossing his arms to absorb the attack.

"Draw Phantom Warrior back, Zelda," Peach ordered, "We have no idea how powerful his Spirit is."

"It's alright…" Zelda said, "I can take it"

Relatively unfazed, Roy recovered from Zelda's beam and attacked. He shouted, "DANCING BLADE!" as his blade seemingly danced in the air, slashing and poking Phantom Warrior several times at a high speed. Zelda's pajamas were cut up on her arms and legs. Roy swiped his sword towards the ceiling, cutting Zelda's sleeve off. And, as her arm began to bleed, Roy jumped into the air. He looked to strike Phantom Warrior in the head with his blade, now glowing bright orange with flames. Then, suddenly, Peach shouted her Spirit's name, Aka Kinopio. It grabbed Roy's blade and quickly hit Roy with an uppercut. The swordsman smacked into the ceiling, falling to the ground. However, he landed softly on his feet.

"I never realized how much they say the names of their attacks aloud before actually doing them…" Mario panted aside, clearly too exhausted to keep making snarky comments.

"That growth on his head is a parasite, an extension from a parasitic Spirit," said Luigi suddenly, opening his eyes. As Roy cracked his neck, his eyes glowing intensely, Luigi continued, "If you can get that growth off his head, the Spirit will leave Roy's life force; he'll come back to his body and stop fighting."

Disgusted, Zelda's face winced as she stared at Roy, "An extension…? That purple thing on Roy's head is actually apart of Bowser?"

"Exactly!" Luigi responded, staring at Roy's face, "Without the parasite, Roy will come to. Now, get that thing off his head!"

"Think like your opponent," Zelda muttered, still thinking hard. When Roy raised his blade, Peach sent Aka Kinopio ahead. It quickly grabbed Roy and slammed him into the ground. However, Roy brought his sword up, slicing her Spirit in the shoulder. Though her own shoulder was wounded, Peach stood still, angrily staring at the swordsman. Then, it clicked in Zelda's head, "I have an idea."

Zelda took a step forward, sending her left arm down to her hip, "Wisdom Slash!"

Zelda's Spirit swung his sword, sending a curved beam towards Roy. However, her Spirit quickly followed behind it. Roy countered the projectile with his sword, but he swung at nothing. Seeing this, Zelda grinned. With an opening, she sent her arm forward, making her Phantom swing his sword down, slicing Roy in the face. Immediately, Roy fell to his knees, a large cut, from the middle of his forehead down towards his left ear, appeared and bled. His green headband sliced completely in half and fell to the ground. With it, the growth split and slowly faded away.

"Hmm… I feel like something was missing from all of that…" Mario muttered, still on the ground.

As Roy's body fell limp, Zelda ran over to him with Luigi. They saw his sword slowly disappear with the remains of his growth. "Just like I suspected," Luigi said, studying Roy's beaten face, "The growth was a parasitic extension of Bowser's Spirit…"

"He must have been possessed by it," Zelda said, studying the spot of the growth closely, "I haven't seen that look in somebody's eyes since we were in Dharkon's realm."

"Luigi, get over here," Peach said, quickly and somewhat frightened. Luigi and Zelda left Roy and saw Mario just as dawn broke over the castle: there was a large growth on the side of his neck, spreading down his back. Like Roy's, it was purple and looked gaseous. Zelda nearly bent over to touch it, but Luigi stopped her.

"Don't," Luigi warned, short of breath due to shock. He caught his breath just as Zelda saw Peach put her head down, "It's another growth."

"Well, let's just cut it off; that worked for Roy," suggested Zelda, beginning to cross her arms. However, Luigi stopped her again.

"It's not that simple," Luigi sighed, opening his eyes again, "That growth… It's different. Because Mario does not have a Spirit, nor was he lent one like Roy, the growth is leaching off his life force directly. Bowser is draining Mario's life force from a great distance, so it'll take more time. But, if Bowser's Spirit is not destroyed in seventy days, Mario will…"

"I will what?" Mario asked, trying to stand up. However, he could not; the growth was too heavy, "You're scaring me, bro."

"If we don't move against Bowser now, he'll drain you of your life force completely… You're going to die," Luigi finished, looking away.

"How could I let this happen…?" Peach sighed, still looking down, "I'm… I'm sorry, Mario…"

They heard somebody shift around behind them; Zelda turned around and saw Roy struggling to his feet. He wiped his face, cussing under his breath, and looked around slowly. When he saw the others standing over Mario, Roy winced in pain and looked at them, confused, "What the actual… What's going on?"

* * *

By midday, Kirby and Zelda were ready to set out. At the gates of the castle, Zelda was in her dress, and her cuts had been bandaged. Meanwhile, Kirby had their tickets for the train, having planned the route for their journey the day before: after they train through the Mushroom Kingdom and Hyrule, they will take camels through the Gerudo Desert toward the Orange Ocean. From there, they would sail towards Dreamland and travel up to Castle Dedede. However, Kirby had a suspicion that it would not be that simple.

"Your training must be cut short, regretfully," Peach sighed, looking ahead towards the castle's gate, "If I could go with you, I would. But Bowser can track my every movements. He must know that I was training somebody; he would not have sent an assassin, one with a Spirit too, if he knew nothing."

"Our advantage is that he does not know who it is," Zelda nodded. She began to smile, "I mean, thanks to you, I can actually control my Spirit. That's something, right?"

Peach grinned, shifting her gaze to Zelda, "You'll become infinitely more powerful during your journey; the more you use your Spirit, the tighter your bond will become."

"Excuse me, Princess Zelda!" somebody called from behind Peach. The three of them turned and saw Roy walking towards them. His armor looked cleaner, though not fresh, and he had a new sword at his side. In addition, his facial cut had begun scarring, though it was still fresh. Because his metallic headband had been broken, Roy made sure his hair was especially messy and up, "Sorry to interrupt, but I wish to come with you."

Roy reached the door and posed valiantly, looking on in the distance. However, Kirby nor Zelda accepted his offer as quick as he had hoped. Instead, Zelda looked at him oddly, "Um… Why? A few hours ago, you were possessed. You need to rest."

"I wasn't expecting that reaction…" Roy said, disappointment in his voice. He straightened back up, "But, that's okay! Well, we should be off now, shouldn't we?"

"You didn't answer her question," Kirby replied, also looking at Roy oddly.

Roy groaned. He turned to Zelda, who still watched him with confusion and caution, "I do not know how that thing attached itself to my forehead; I have no memory of the past week, to be completely honest. The last thing I remember was dungeon-crawling with Ike and Lucina, then we were jumped by an extremely… Wide person wearing a hood—"

"That must've been Wario," Kirby commented.

"That was the last thing I remembered, well, until I woke up in Princess Peach's room, which was completely destroyed, with a deep gash along my face," Roy said, "That monk with the green headband next to Mario filled me on what you did. And, for that, I am in your debt."

"That monk is Luigi," Kirby again commented, watching Roy go on one knee, putting one hand on the hilt of his sword.

Ignoring him, Roy began speaking, "Princess Zelda, please allow me to accompany you on this journey. I owe you a life's debt, and I wish to repay it."

Knowing the pleasantries, Princess Zelda half-smiled, "Rise, Roy of Elibe. You will be my and Kirby's Protector until our journey's end."

Quickly, Roy obeyed and held his head high. He held back the urge to smile, which annoyed Kirby slightly. "Thank you, Your Majesty. You will not regret this. The headband-wearing monk told me of our time constraints on this quest, so we best set out."

"Cool it with the fancy speak," Kirby remarked, showing his annoyance, "You need not to talk in a manner such as this."

Surprised, Roy looked at Kirby, "Are you mocking me?"

"Boys, boys," Zelda said, getting in between them, "Let's not argue now. We have a long road ahead."

'Link is the main reason we're going after Bowser…' Kirby said in a moment of thought, walking behind Zelda and Roy, who seemed to be getting along with each other well, 'We were on a tight schedule already. Now, we have seventy days to travel half-way around the world. Good grief… I never wanted to go back to Dreamland, not after that whole situation with Meta Knight and Dedede. I guess we all have to return home at some point, though…'


	4. Divine Blood

Just as the sun began to set, one of the conductors of the train informed Zelda that they would be stopping for a short, twenty-minute break near Kakariko Village; they needed to pick up additional supplies, and the conductors themselves needed a break. Luckily, it was the crown's private train, so the only ones aboard were herself, Kirby, Roy, the crew, consisting of two conductors and a handful of service people. The sun fully set as Zelda stared out the window, thinking about Link. However, the other two did not even notice her sudden sad mood. Instead, they were talking about something rather… Interesting…

"Personally, I recommend clearing dungeons out entirely," Roy told Kirby, who sat across from him. He put his cup of tea down, continuing, "To think about the amount of riches stuffed in those places, some hundreds of years old, makes my head hurt."

"Where do you even find dungeons? All over Ylisse? Or Elibe?" Kirby asked, still trying to get a feel for Roy, "I've been basically all over the world, and there's only a handful of places that I could think of."

"Come on, Kirby. Don't be so dense," Roy commented, pointing at his own head with a cheeky grin, "Once you learn how to identify them, then you'll see that they're everywhere. Sure, you may only have your run-of-the-mill dungeon with a few traps and a linear layout in Dreamland, but in my—"

Suddenly, the train stopped abruptly. Zelda finally broke out of her daze from the sudden stop. She was able to stabilize herself, as did Kirby. Roy, however, was not so lucky; his tea spilt all over his lap, staining the pants underneath his green armor. "My tea!" Roy shouted in anguish. Immediately, he stood up and looked down, seeing the brownish stains.

"Why did we stop?" Zelda asked Kirby, who looked just as confused as he was.

"Maybe we're at Kakariko?" Kirby suggested, also getting out of the booth. He looked at Roy, who still looked distraught at his tea spilling. Kirby rolled his eyes, though he left out a little chuckle.

After getting Roy a towel, the three left the cabin, stepping out of the train. When they were outside, they could finally see that the engine appeared to be smoking; the front of the train almost looked like it had hit a brick wall. One of the conductors approached Zelda. "We're not sure what happened to the engine," he tried to explain, though, by the tone of his voice, he sounded confused and aghast, "I might be able to give you an update in an hour or two, but we're realistically stuck here for the rest of the night."

Cussing under her breath, Zelda looked down in frustration. She sighed heavily, showing this, "That's fine. Just do whatever you can…"

"It's too bad that I don't have Binding Blade anymore," Roy shook his head, "I'd be able to start a fire for us."

"This isn't right…" Zelda muttered, studying the environment carefully, "It looks like the train ran into something… I know we were slowing down, but whatever we hit shouldn't have stopped us so suddenly."

"Is it an enemy Spirit?" Kirby pondered, also trying to find clues around them. However, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary under the moonlight. Then, suddenly, they heard something rustle in the treeline.

Roy quickly drew his sword and readied himself toward the treeline. Kirby turned to it as Zelda crossed her arms, her life energy suddenly becoming visible. Before she could call her Spirit, they saw a figure emerge and put his hand out. Although Zelda relaxed, her life energy slowly becoming invisible again, Roy stayed with his sword drawn. He put his arm in front of his face, placing his blade atop it and bent his knees, eying the person as they walked out of the trees. When the person's face was visible, Roy dropped his sword and placed it back at his hip: it was Richter Belmont, wearing a black getup, though his cloth headband was white.

"Sorry sneaking up on you like that," he said with his hands up, "I was… Venturing through the woods and saw your train crash."

"Richter Belmont?" Kirby said, looking up at the massive man, "I haven't seen you since that day in Dharkon's realm."

Nodding, Richter closed his eyes, apparently trying to hide his arm. He sighed, "Well, I've been busy. As you can tell, I just finished my… Venture through the woods."

As Kirby looked behind Richter, he saw some blood on the trees and leaves behind him. He noted it mentally and turned back to Richter, who did not move from his initial spot in the bush, "Did you, by chance, see what hit the train? Or were you too busy… With your venture through the woods?"

"Okay, stop saying that," Zelda quickly said. The train clearly made her easily agitated, "Did you see what hit our train?"

"We should really sit down for this," Richter advised. He took a step, but Zelda stopped him with her hand.

She twitched her finger, studying Richter's eyes and body language. Once again, Kirby saw energy form around Zelda and, behind her, Phantom Warrior slowly appear. "He could be the one who stopped our train," Zelda suggested, her annoyance turning into anger, "How do we know we can trust you?"

Quickly, Roy turned to Zelda and said, "Princess, if I may… You're talking about Richter Belmont. Don't you know anything about the Belmont clan? Why are you so suspicious?"

"I know what he used to be," Zelda said, making sure Richter stayed perfectly still. It seemed that he could not see her Spirit; he just looked at her with steady eyes, "And I remember who you were too, before Galeem and Dharkon… Yet, you still attacked Peach and Mario back in the Mushroom Kingdom. Bowser's influence knows no bounds; Richter could be just another one of his minions."

"You have a point," Kirby said, turning towards Richter, "There's a trial of blood behind Richter. It could be a sign of his parasitic Spirit."

"You mentioned Bowser," Richter said, putting his hands down to his side, "I'm trying to find him as well. But, it's for my own reasons. Maybe we could help each other."

Zelda scoffed, beginning to cross her arms in a way to make Phantom Warrior creep forward, "Yeah, right—"

Richter's own life energy became visible around him. However, before Zelda could send her Spirit to attack, a dark mist appeared in front of Richter. Then, a man with pale, white skin and nearly identical hair formed from the mist. The man was wearing a black coat as well as period clothing and held a broadsword that look predominantly black. As suddenly as the man appeared, he vanished. He reappeared directly behind Zelda and swung his sword; then, she heard something fall to the ground. Zelda turned around, seeing one of the conductors on the ground behind her.

"Before you accuse me of being a murder, I recommend you check the body," Richter said plainly, his Spirit vanishing. Roy looked at him as his energy became invisible.

"Kirby, check the body," Zelda ordered, gritting her teeth.

Kirby walked over to the body as Zelda maliciously stared at Richter, who returned her gaze but look as if he were brooding. The conductor was much paler than the last time Kirby had seen him, and his dark hair seemed to have grey in it now. "Something's not right…" Kirby said, "He looks as if his life force has been drained."

"The teeth… Have you checked the teeth? Do they look like fangs?" Richter asked unwavering.

Roy walked over to Kirby and handed him a stick. With the stick, Kirby opened the mouth of the conductor; like Richter said, there were fangs inside it. "Yeah, there are…"

Richter slightly grinned with the side of his mouth, blinking to break his gaze. On the other hand, Zelda was surprised, and she noticeably became less agitated. "Forgive me once again, but I had to make sure you were not under Bowser's influence as well," Richter informed, his sly grin suddenly changed, "You see, my venture through the woods was not a venture, but more of a hunt. Ever since I come into contact with this Spirit, I've encountered many a vampire and monster in this land…"

"God, he speaks like that too?" Kirby muttered, but he was quickly hushed by Zelda.

"…I've been off on my own since the final battle, taking out any of these vampires…Initially, there were only a few. But then I saw Simon," Richter continued, now allowing for his arm to be shown; there was a cut on it, looking fairly fresh, "Even though he's a Belmont, Bowser still got to him. And since I've become aware that Bowser has a Spirit, the number of monsters that've attacked me has increased. That tells me everything that I need to know about his power."

"Perhaps we were fated to meet?" Roy suggested, "We're on a quest to destroy Bowser's Spirit, and it seems you search for him as well."

"Perhaps we were," Richter agreed.

* * *

The other crew members were understandably confused, even upset, by their colleague's death. Because of this, Zelda told them to stay in the train for the night while she, Kirby, Roy, and Richter stayed outside, watching for anything that may jump the train. By this time of night, Kirby and Roy were long asleep, leaving Zelda and Richter awake by the campfire. The only sounds of the night were the only things Zelda could hear, besides the crackling of the fire. Out of boredom, she summoned Phantom Warrior's arm and sword, just to pick at the fire.

"Your Spirit…" Zelda heard Richter say. When she looked up, she saw him sitting next to Roy, who slept on his stomach with his butt in the air, "It looks very powerful."

"Well, it's strong and precise with its attacks, but it lacks quickness," Zelda explained, calling Phantom Warrior back, "When I'm fighting with it, I have to make every hit count, you know?"

"Well, what about drawing it back when you aren't attacking?" Richter suggested, leaning back on his hands, "I mean, if your Spirit lacks the quickness to dodge, then why not just draw it back?"

"I… I never thought about that, actually," Zelda responded, now thinking hard about that thought.

As Zelda kept quiet, still thinking about that, Richter spoke up, "You're lucky that your Spirit's only weakness is his slowness. That one can be dealt with easily."

"Well, what about yours? What's your Spirit's weakness?" Zelda asked curiously.

Sighing, Richter looked out in the distance; the night was very quiet at this point, "My Spirit is an incredibly powerful Spirit: ALUCARD."

"Oh… Your Spirit is Alucard?" Zelda responded, "Alucard as in… The Son of Dracula?"

"Ah, you know of Dracula," Richter said, almost chuckling, "Well, yes. My Spirit is the Son of Dracula, making it's incredibly powerful. However, I cannot use him in direct sunlight and many of his traits have become may own; I'm lucky that I can still travel around during the day. If I get into a fight before sunset, I'm afraid that… Well, I guess I have to find another way to fight."

"With Vampire Killer, right? The Belmont clan's whip, or whatever?" Zelda asked again.

"Unfortunately," Richter responded, his voice slowly becoming saddened and disappointed. Zelda perked up, Richter's tone catching her attention, "Because Alucard is a vampire, I can't even hold it without feeling like I'm beginning to be burned alive…"

Now, Zelda felt bad; she clearly brought up something of great pain for Richter. "Oh… I'm sorry I asked—"

"It's alright…" Richter dismissed, trying to smile slyly. But he could not hold it, "Funny, isn't it? A member of the Belmont clan becomes a vampire, disgracing his name, no matter what circumstance is…"

Trying to comfort him, Zelda said, "You aren't a vampire, per se… You just have a vampiric spirit attached to your life force."

Suddenly, they heard a noise from behind the train. Both of them stopped talking and turned to towards the sound. It must have been a stray cat or something, Zelda thought to himself. However, Richter stood up immediately and woke Roy up. As Roy yawned, Zelda followed suit by waking Kirby. "Is it morning already?" Kirby asked, climbing to his feet.

"No, it's still the middle of the night," Richter explained. He closed his eyes, letting his arm fall. Then, his life force became visible, and soon his Spirit appeared, "There's something behind the train."

Roy drew his sword as Zelda muttered her Spirit's name, Phantom Warrior. They strode to the back of the train, Kirby slowly matching Zelda's movement. After they walked around the train, Zelda saw what had happened; the other conductor was on the ground and one of the windows had been knocked out. Richter bent down to investigate the body, though Kirby immediately spotted what he needed to see; two bite marks from fangs.

"There must be a vampire nearby," Kirby deduced, looking at it the conductor, "That poor man…"

"It's not just nearby…" Richter corrected him, "It's inside the train now."

As Zelda looked on at the train with Richter and Kirby, each having the same reaction of surprise, Roy spoke up, "It's only four carts long. We'll each search a cart, then one of us could kill the monster. What'd you always used to say, Richter? BEGONE MONSTER, YOU DON'T BELONG—"

Kirby stopped him immediately, "We need to travel and search each cart together; we don't know who the vampire has bit, right? It's better to travel as a unit."

"How about in pairs?" Zelda asked, "I'll go with Kirby, and Richter can go with Roy."

Roy chuckled at the suggestion, only to receive a broody stare from Richter. However, Roy was ignorant of this, "Clearly, the most efficient way to search the train is to take one cart each."

"As we sit out here and argue, innocent people are potentially dying at the hands of a monster," Richter said loudly, breaking the exchange, "I'm going in to kill that vampire. Feel free to split up or come with me."

As Richter walked towards the train, his Spirit seemingly floating along the ground, Zelda stared at him walk away. "He has a point," Kirby sighed, "Let's go inside."

"I'll guess we can go together; this Belmont knows what he is doing," Roy said, beginning to walk towards the train as well. Kirby followed him, but Zelda stood still, gazing at Richter enter the train. She finally broke out her daydreaming and followed the others.

* * *

After they cleared the first cart, Kirby opened the door to the second one; inside, there was a single shelf that stood in the middle of the room. It stretched for the entire stretch of the cart, and it was nearly empty. As Zelda got inside it, she could not help but to feel uneasy. Roy followed her closely, then Richter. Kirby was the last one to get inside, and he closed the door behind them. There were no windows and the only light source was a dangling lightbulb in the center of the room. Because of the small light, the corners of the room were entirely black.

"This place gives me the creeps," Roy commented, his hand on his sword, ready to draw, "Thank the gods that there's not much to search in here."

"I second that," Kirby muttered, looking at the shelf; it was completely empty, which took him by surprise, "Why are the shelves empty?"

Shrugging, Zelda said, "Well, we did have to stop for supplies, right?"

They stood in silence, looking around the room. It was silent for several minutes, that it, until Richter told everyone to stop moving silently. When everybody was standing completely still, no longer searching the cart, they could hear somebody's faint breaths. Richter summoned his Spirit quickly, as did Zelda. Then, just as Phantom Warrior appeared, a body dropped from the ceiling of the cabin. Following it was another.

"They're here!" Richter yelled, grabbing something at his belt. Alucard suddenly drew his sword and slashed, just missing the first vampire. The second one lunged at Roy, who put his sword through it. However, the monster clawed at Roy, making Roy let go of his sword.

"That blasted thing almost got my throat!" Roy shouted, "How didn't it die!?"

Both vampires calmed down, retreating to the pitch-black corners. While in the corner, the only thing visible from the monsters were their red eyes and sharp fangs. They emerged, revealing it to be the vampire hit by the train, and another member of the crew. It seemed that the vampiric abilities made both the new monsters much more muscular.

Richter backed away, allowing Alucard to be in front of him. As one of the vampires, the female crew member, stepped towards him, he asked, "Any of you fight a vampire before?"

"You have to destroy the brain by any means necessary; any wounds on the body will heal when they feed," Roy responded.

"You're confusing zombies and vampires, Roy," Kirby said, studying both the vampires, "You can't kill a vampire unless you use sunlight, holy objects, garlic, or a wooden steak."

"What about a Spirit?" Zelda asked, beginning to cross her arms to summon Phantom Warrior.

Before Kirby could say anything, Zelda flung her arm forward. Phantom Warrior launched forward, knocking the male vampires back. The power of her Spirit's attack was powerful enough to completely destroy the cart's wall. Zelda relaxed her arm as Phantom Warrior stepped outside the train. The Spirit slowly approached the vampire, who had landed near their own campfire. The vampire hissed and jumped on Phantom Warrior.

"Maybe your Spirit can kill a vampire," Kirby commented as Roy watched Alucard easily slash the other vampire in the stomach. When the vampire dodged one of Alucard's attacks and struck him in the arm with his fangs, he saw Richter wince as a bite mark appeared on his arm.

"Richter! You're bit!" Roy shouted. He picked up a can from the ground and launched himself at the vampire. He began beating the vampire's head with the tin can, but the vampire easily pushed Roy off. Having underestimated the strength of the vampire, Roy flew back into the shelf.

"You idiot! Why would you just attack a vampire with a tin can!?" Kirby shouted, remaining still as the shelf collapsed onto Roy. He pushed a wooden plank off himself as Kirby continued, "You can't kill a vampire by destroying its brain!"

Before Roy could respond, the vampire hopped on Roy and began scratching at his neck. Roy could only defend himself with a wooden plank. Kirby rolled his eyes and grabbed another can off the ground. With all his strength, Kirby launched the can at the vampire. However, it did not respond. 'How could I forget; once a vampire is close to feeding, it won't let anything stop it…' Kirby thought, 'Good grief… What should I do?'

Seemingly on cue, Richter appeared out of nowhere with his Spirit. Quickly, Richter's spirit transformed into a wolf and jumped onto the vampire, knocking the vampire off Roy. As the wolf dug into the vampire, Roy could finally breath. Kirby ran over and helped him up as Richter reached to something on the back of his belt. "Funny, his Spirit could turn into a wolf," Kirby noted, making sure Roy was okay.

"What can't Alucard do?" Roy responded, rubbing his neck in pain.

"You should probably move," Richter advised them before relaxing his arm. Clearly in pain, Richter swung his hand, unveiling his whip, Vampire Killer. Alucard transformed back into his regular form and stabbed the vampire in the stomach before disappearing. The vampire shouted and jumped up. Richter had timed his last attack perfectly and landed the whip directly onto the vampire's forehead. The vampire flew backwards, out of the cart, and exploded as soon as she hit the ground. In her place were ashes. Immediately, Richter dropped the whip and Alucard disappeared.

"Damn this Spirit…" Richter said, clinching his hand in pain, "Anytime I use that whip, I feel like I'm on fire."

"We have other problems right now, Richter," Roy said, staring at Zelda battle the last vampire. Quickly, Phantom Warrior flew forward, swinging it's sword sideways. It smacked the vampire in the hip, sending him into the bush. As Zelda's Spirit walked towards the bush, Kirby could see the vampire preparing to attack.

"He's luring you! Draw Phantom Warrior back NOW!" Kirby shouted at Zelda, "If she gets close to that bush, the vampire will jump directly onto her Spirit. I don't know if Phantom Warrior is quick enough to avoid him."

"He has to be because Zelda is not listening to you," Roy said, picking his sword up from the ash, "I can only pray that she knows what she's doing."

"She gets too agitated too easily at times," Kirby sighed, "It's weird because she's usually so level-headed and calm. When even one thing goes wrong, she loses her head. Richter, can you use your whip again?"

"No, but I'll help her," Richter responded. He put his hand to his side, and Alucard appeared. As soon as the vampire emerged from the bush, Alucard transformed into a bat and flew towards the vampire. However, Phantom Warrior disappeared before the vampire landed.

"What? She just withdrew Phantom Warrior?" Kirby said, watching in shock.

"She must've come to her senses," Roy added, nodding in admiration, "Thank the—"

Suddenly Phantom Warrior appeared again. Zelda yelled, "Wisdom Slash!"

Following suit, Phantom Warrior launched a light blue curved beam out of its blade. The beam smacked the vampire in the neck. Then, as soon as the beam hit him, Phantom Warrior launched forward and swung its sword downward, seemingly through the vampire. As the vampire fell, Zelda knew that it was over.

Kirby looked on surprised, much like Roy, "She recalled her Spirit so it would avoid damage and it the vampire as soon as it hit the ground!" said Kirby, "She's learning to use her Spirit's weaknesses to her advantage. She made the vampire think he had the upper-hand, but she had a plan all along."

The vampire shrieked in pain as it exploded, much like the one Richter killed. By the bush, where the vampire had perished, was only ash now. Zelda turned around, a finger resting on her cheek, and smiled at Kirby.

"Not bad, huh?" she said, still smiling.

"Very impressive, Princess," Roy said with a nod of approval, "Maybe you don't need a protector, huh?"

* * *

At sunrise, Zelda made sure that the remaining members of the crew were safe. After they departed for the nearby Kakariko Village, Zelda, Roy, Kirby, and Richter gathered their direction and headed south. Their next stop was probably going to be somewhere closer to the Gerudo Desert. According to his map, they were a few kilometers away from a rest stop; a local inn that Kirby had never heard of before.

As Richter walked slightly ahead, the burns on his hands still visible, Kirby handed the map to Zelda, who put it in her bag. "You sure that you don't want to get to a nearby train station? I'm sure tickets are affordable," Kirby asked, "I don't know what the next inn on the road is, and we'd get to Dreamland faster if we took a train to the Gerudo Desert first."

"After what happened last night, I think this is the best way," Zelda answered, looking straight ahead; they were on a dirt road, each side having rolling hills with minimal trees, "It's been a day since we left the Mushroom Kingdom, and we already endangered innocent people… Two of them are dead because of us, and I don't want to have more lives at stake."

"Fair enough… We have sixty-nine days to travel half-way across the world… That's enough time if we minimize the time we travel by train."

"I don't want to travel by train at all; we'll get some horses to get to the Gerudo Desert," Zelda explained, "From there, we can decide what we do."

"There are monsters lurking everywhere, Princess," Roy chimed in, his hand nobly on the pummel of his sword as he walked, "We're sure to have more attack on if we travel strictly by the road."

"But if we travel by train, innocent lives will be at risk," Richter added, agreeing with Zelda. He stopped walking, signalling the others to stop as well, "I didn't tell you what I think Bowser's Spirit is… After our little encounter last night, I think it's fair that you know."

"Why so standoffish?" Kirby asked.

"Even though I could barely use Vampire Killer, I had to take it away from Simon," Richter told them clearly, his voice more brooding than they had heard before, "That's because I think that Bowser's Spirit is… Well… The most powerful Spirit imaginable…"

"And that is…?" Roy asked, as if he wanted Richter to get to the point.

"…Bowser's Spirit, I think, anyway, is DRACULA," Richter told, looking down, "The way I see his minions act and fight… I know it all to well."

'He has to be joking…' Kirby thought to himself. He looked up at Zelda, who blankly stared at Richter. However, the longer she stared, the more it made sense to her, 'Then again, it could be possible… Luigi said that Bowser's Spirit is parasitic and has already consumed his life force entirely… Good grief, we're in for a lot of trouble if Richter's right…'


	5. Co-Star

It had been around four days since Zelda, Kirby, and Roy left the Mushroom Kingdom. The entire nation was in a period of mourning as Mario's condition slowly worsened by the day. However, he maintained a positive, albeit snarky, attitude about the whole situation, easing tensions slightly. Then, as soon as he started coughing again, people were reminded of the actual situation: Mario had sixty-three days to live if Bowser's Spirit, whatever it may be, was not defeated.

Many different toads walked around the bed that Mario laid in, checking the various monitors next to the window, tracking his heartbeat, body temperature, and so on. Peach stood in front of the bed, looking at Mario with desperation; still, she was angry at herself for not finding a way to defeat Roy sooner or even sense him. If she had, Mario's life would not be in danger. While she anxiously watched Mario take his afternoon nap, Luigi walked into the room, still wearing that cloak from before.

"Well? Find anything?" Peach asked, not looking at him.

Shrugging, Luigi turned to face his brother as well, "His body temperature is dropping gradually even though he has a fever. The growth on his neck is completely parasitic, and what I found was… Shocking, to say the least."

"Tell me," Peach demanded, now facing Luigi. Sighing, Luigi looked down at the ground, not making eye contact with her.

"Bowser's Spirit can be one of three things," Luigi began, his head still down, "And all of them are worse than we imagined. Bowser may possess the Spirit of Zant, TWLIGHT'S USURPER."

"He didn't escape the fight with Dharkon?" Peach asked skeptically, "I don't remember hearing anything about—"

"That's not important right now," Luigi said, interrupting her. Peach apologized with a nod of her head, and Luigi continued, "The second Spirit is BLOOD FALCON, though I doubt it is this one; it's parastic tendencies are exponentially weaker with distance."

"What's the last one?" Peach said, her expression becoming more sad with every word.

Clearly, Luigi was having trouble saying it. However, after a few seconds, he straightened up and said, "The last one… To me, this one is the scariest possibility... It could be that he is possessed by the Spirit of Dracula, HEART OF DARKNESS. I have no books, nor does this Castle, that have any information about Heart of Darkness; only it's name and effects appear in them."

Suddenly, Peach shot a look at Luigi, "Is Heart of Darkness parasitic?"

"Not parasitic, but vampiric," Luigi told, seeing and hearing Mario snore deeply, "Twilight's Userper, Blood Falcon, and Heart of Darkness are all capable of placing extensions of themselves on other people, even giving non-Spirit Masters an incredibly powerful Spirit. But, the effects of Heart of Darkness are terrifying; once Mario's life force is drained completely, he will become a vampire."

"Zelda has sixty-six days to defeat Bowser," Peach sighed, beginning to walk out of the room with heavy, slow feet, "Once Bowser knows what's coming, he'll try to stop them at every turn."

Following closely behind, Luigi spoke up, hoping to give the dreadfully anxious and saddened Princess some good news, "On that subject, I heard from our spy today. She's on her way to meet Zelda, Kirby, and Roy in southern Hyrule. She made it across Dreamland, the Ocean, and the Gerudo Desert in eight days. That gives me hope for the others."

"Remember this, Luigi: she's a Spirit Master who was not being actively pursued by other Spirit Masters," Peach responded quickly, "I don't have a doubt that she'll help them on their journey, but she was traveling by herself without hassle. It may shorten the trip, but it'll be long regardless."

* * *

"What do you mean we can't buy horses here!? Isn't this a stable?" Roy shouted, pounding his fists onto the booth's counter. After a full day of traveling, they finally reached their destination: an inn that doubled as a stable. It looked like a giant tent with a wooden horse effigy-esc model above the booth. The booth itself was only big enough for a single person to walk around in. In fact, the only other thing the booth was a door, seemingly for the exit.

"Look sir, I've told you this mulitple times," the worker said, apparently getting as frustrated as Roy, "This is a Horse Stable. We offer beds that you may pay to use per stay, but that's the only thing we sell. You can register a horse through us, and we'll even board it for your convenience, but we don't sell horses."

"THEN HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO GET A HORSE!?" Roy snapped, screaming at the top of his lungs. Before he said anything more, Richter and Zelda pulled him back. Kirby approached the worker, who looked as if he were angry and slightly frightened at the same time.

"I'm so sorry about that," Kirby said, looking up at the booth. The worker moved forward and leaned in order to see Kirby, "He's a little… Tired from the road."

"I've worked at the Riverside Stable my whole life, and I have never encountered a customer as crude and frustrating as him. If you're with him, then I refuse to serve you," the worker stated, crossing his arms.

Thinking for a second, Kirby noddded, "In that case, we'll take three beds for the night, please."

As Kirby gave the berated worker the money for the beds, Roy pushed himself away from Richter and Zelda. "You need to relax," Richter advised, "We'll find some horses for the trip, okay? Just calm down."

"How am I supposed to calm down? Zelda said that we'd be able to purchase horses at the "next stable". Well, guess what? This is "the next stable", and they don't sell horses! It's a shame that they'd lie like that to Zelda, The damn Princess of Hyrule, and they lied to her face. Gods, they need to be taught to know who they're talking to!" Roy exclaimed, off in an angry tangent.

"Well, I guess stables in southern Hyrule have different customs than ones near New Castle Town," Zelda said, looking at the distance. Suddenly, her eyes went wide, causing the other two to turn around.

There they saw a large male Rito walking down a path. Between his hands was an accordion, occasionally playing a note as his hands swayed with his foot movements. Nothing was particularly unusual about this Rito, but Zelda had an unnerving feeling in her stomach, much like the feeling she had the night Mario and Peach were attacked. The Rito walked past them, seemingly not even noticing Zelda.

"Is everything alright, Your Majesty?" Roy asked, "You seem… Odd."

"There's something about that Rito," Zelda replied, still eying the Rito, now with malice, "I have a bad feeling about him. What if he's a Spirit Master under Bowser's influence, and he figured out our purpose!? He must be dealt with right now—!"

When she took a step in the direction of the Rito, Richter grabbed her arm. She stopped and turned to see him gripping on her forearm tightly, "Don't do anything too rash now, Zelda. He could be just an ordinary civilian, carrying an accordion wherever he goes, looking to play a classical tune."

"Do you even here yourself talk sometimes, Richter?" Zelda raised her voice as she shook her arm free from his grip, "I know for a fact that the Rito is an enemy Spirit Master; I can just sense it."

She clinched her fist, making the life energy around her appear visible. Then, just as Phantom Warrior formed behind her, Kirby walked up to the Rito and began talking. "Strange… It looks like the so-called Spirit-using Rito knows Kirby from somewhere," Roy said, looking at the interaction, which quickly turned friendly.

"I guess I was wrong," Zelda said, relaxing her hand. As her life energy disappeared from view, Zelda looked at the other two, "It's still a possibility that Kirby is talking with an enemy. We'll just have to sit back and wait, studying his every movement."

"There's something else you should know about Kass," somebody said from behind them. Roy was the first to turn, drawing his sword with incredible speed. Richter had his hand hovering above his whip, and Zelda muttered his Spirit's name. When they turned, they saw the person who just spoke: it was Rosalina, her blonde hair covering one of her eyes and her dress partially turned.

"Rosalina? What are you doing here?" Zelda asked, still tense and ready to strike.

"Luigi, or Mr. L, told me that you'd be here. I'm here on Peach's orders," she explained. When the others remained unmoved, Rosalina sighed and spoke again, "Princess, you remember when Luigi has told you that Bowser's currently in Dreamland, a cult-like following growing under his leadership? I'm the one who gave him that information. Do I have your trust now?"

Roy was still ready to attack, as was Zelda. Richter, on the other hand, relaxed, "Tell us about Kass."

"I will once I see these two relax," Rosalina responded, herself becoming increasingl anxious as Zelda and Roy kept their guard up.

* * *

"It's great to see you in Hyrule, Kirby," Kass said, looking down at him due to his massive frame, "I wish I had known beforehand. The wife and I would've been here to welcome you."

"It's alright. I know that you're always busy traveling around the vast fields of Hyrule," Kirby brushed off with a smirk on his face, "How is your family anyway? I haven't seen Amali in a long time."

"I do wish for our conversation to continue. But for now, I must play," Kass said, almost regretfully.

'Damn, Kass. Really?' Kirby began thinking, 'I haven't seen you in years, and all I get is a short two-minute conversation? Then again, I should really stop expecting so much out of people… If Dreamland taught me anything, it's that—'

"High expectations, or expectations at all, are bound to get people hurt or killed," Kass said, seemingly finishing Kirby's thought. This took Kirby by surprise, and he quickly drew back; Kass was acting weird as he began to play his accordion, seemingly getting lost in the music.

As Kass played his tune, Kirby saw Zelda and the others walking back towards him. With them, he saw Rosalina walking in front of them. Smiling, Kirby walked towards them to greet her, but Zelda and Roy stopped him. "Wait, Kirby," Zelda warned, "There seems to be an enemy Spirit nearby."

"Great… Another day, another fight," Kirby sighed before turning towards Rosalina, "Good to see you again, Rosalina."

"I wish I were here under different circumstances," Rosalina replied almost sadly, "You see, Luigi sent me to meet you guys. I was working as a spy for them; after spending a few months alongside Bowser, I can tell you about his Spirit."

"Have you seen it?" Kirby asked.

Shrugging, Rosalina answered, "He never summoned it in front of me, but my Spirit has analyzed it in every way it can. Like Luigi's Mr. L, my Spirit is not overly strong, but it is very good at scholarly work and reconnaissance."

"Interesting… I guess not every Spirit is as badass as Phantom Warrior or Alucard," Roy commented.

"But, how do we know that you're not working for Bowser? Do we just take your word for it?" Zelda said, clearly still hostile, "Anybody who approaches us, let alone another Spirit Master, can be under Bowser's influence."

"You're not wrong there," Rosalina agreed, "My Spirit has seen what Bowser can do, to anyone really. So, how can I prove myself to you?"

"I guess we'll have to wait and see," Richter said, "For now, I'm going to get some rest."

As Richter, Roy, and Rosalina began walking towards the stable, Kirby pulled Zelda aside; she still eyed Rosalina incredibly closely. "What's up?" Kirby asked, though Zelda did not return his gaze, "Why are you so paranoid?"

"Kirby, Bowser can control and influence anyone, not just Spirit Masters," Zelda began, "Roy's attack on Peach proved that Bowser can control anybody, and the vampire attack a few days ago proved that he also can control and possibly create monsters. What if Rosalina is lying to us and plans to kill us in our sleep for Lord Bowser? I'm not taking any risks."

"I think we can trust her," Kirby said, "I don't know what it is—I guess maybe a gut feeling—but she's on our side."

"Ever since that Rito playing that damn accordion arrived, I've had a bad feeling in my stomach," Zelda said, "I'll just keep my guard up."

"Kass?" Kirby asked, surprised. After a second of thought, Kirby spoke again, "Actually, he has been acting weird… If we should be weary of anybody, it should be him."

Quickly, Zelda responded, "That's what Rosalina said. She explained that he is a Spirit Master sent by Bowser to stop us; the first of many, in fact. But, for all we know, this "Kass" might not even be a Spirit Master, and she might be tricking us."

Before Kirby could say anything in return, a familiar tune began to play. Kirby recognized it from his travels, a tune that Kass has become known for. However, a something began manifesting from Kass' accordion. It formed into quickly into a humanoid form, though it was still incredibly misty. And, as Kass continued to play his accordion, it approached Roy from behind.

"Roy, look out!" Kirby shouted, he and Zelda beginning to run over to the other three.

Reacting quickly, Roy turned and drew his blade. He swung at the blue mist, but it soon disappeared upon contact. "What was that?!" Roy shouted, adjusting the grip on his sword as he bent his knees.

"It must be the work of an enemy Spirit," Richter responded, beginning to summon his own.

"Co-Star," Rosalina said, as her life energy began glowing a bright orange. Suddenly, an orange Luma appeared beside her, though it was not very big.

"Rosalina's Spirit as a baby Luma?" Zelda noted, stopping in her tracks with Kirby.

"It makes sense…" Kirby added, "If I had to guess what Spirit she possesses, I would've guessed that."

"Phantom Warrior!" Zelda called loudly, crossing her arms. As her Spirit began forming behind her, she continued, "I'm about to send Phantom Warrior to attack that Rito. The enemy Spirit Master has to be him; I know it for a fact!"

"Zelda, don't—!"

As soon as she flung her arm forward, her Spirit responded. But, it appeared to run into something; a blue misty figure had stopped Phantom Warrior from reaching Kass. This figure was nearly as big as Zelda's Spiritx though it looked like a wrestler. Then, it disappeared, only to reappear again right behind Phantom Warrior. "What is this!?" Kirby shouted, "Can this enemy Spirit teleport while maintaining the durability necessary to stop Phantom Warrior in his tracks?"

With on strike, the wrestler knocked Phantom Warrior to the ground. Zelda felt the powerful kick in her back, but she did not flinch. As soon as the wrestler disappeared, Zelda withdrew her Spirit. "This Spirit did not appear until Kass started to play his accordion," Zelda told Kirby.

"So, Kass' Spirit is not the figures…" Kirby said, thinking as he talked. Then, it hit him, "Could it be that his Spirit is the accordion, and he controls those figures with the music?"

"That's what I was thinking," Zelda nodded as she looked at Kass, who had his eyes closed as he played the accordion. Suddenly, Zelda threw her shoulder backwards, turning her body. The same wrestler appeared there and lunged at her. Phantom Warrior quickly appeared and pointed his sword at the wrestler, sending a blue beam out of the top. The wrestler dissolved into mist, but he appeared quickly on the other side of Zelda's Spirit.

"These are just extensions of Kass' Spirit, it seems," Zelda said, drawing Phantom Warrior back. She and Kirby ran to the others; Roy fought off a few kid-sized figures, stumbled over themselves to attack him. With every strike he landed, they seemed to multiple. Richter's Spirit fought off a large blue figure, though not as big as the wrestler, with his sword. Meanwhile, Rosalina stood behind both of them with her eyes closed, not moving.

"Don't waste your time with these blue things!" Kirby shouted, "They aren't the enemy Spirit!"

"What is, then?" Roy asked, burying his blade into the mist, only to have it disappear.

"It's Kass' accordion," Rosalina said loudly, so that everyone could hear them.

Before she could continue, Kass hit a certain note, and all the figurs closed in at once: the wrestler punched Roy in the chin, knocking him back into a stack of firewood; the shorter ones jumped onto Richter's Spirit, holding Alucard down so Richter himself could not move nor breath; and, the remaining figure hit Zelda in the back of the knee, forcing her to the ground. Rosalina's Spirit, CO-STAR, suddenly appeared, and it looked angry. The second that Co-Star appeared, it expelled something from it's small body: Star Bits. The Star Bits shot out everywhere, making all the blue figures disappear. Kirby helped Richter to his feet as Roy struggled his way back to the others. Zelda, however, stayed on the ground, only rising to a knee.

"His Spirit is RHYTHM HEAVEN; he controls those figures with each beat of the song he plays," Rosalina warned them, "Destroy the accordion, and his Spirit is done for."

"His Spirit attack's with every beat?" Kirby said, turning back to Kass, "So, if you time an attack just right, you'll have a free shot at him."

"Exactly," Rosalina said, "Try to hit him with a Wisdom Slash, Zelda."

"I'm way ahead of you," Zelda said as Phantom Warrior stepped in front of her. As soon as the blue curved beam left the sword of her Spirit, the wrestler appeared and caught it. He threw it back towards Zelda, who withdrew Phantom Warrior at the right time. She ducked, along with Richter, and the beam destroyed a tree behind them. Though his eyes were still closed, Kass grinned cheekily, as if he knew what just happened.

"Wisdom Slash is too slow," Kirby commented as Phantom Warrior engages the wrestler again, "Roy has no projectiles, neither does Richter's Spirit. And these blue figures won't allow us to get close enough to destroy it with melee attacks."

"I have one last idea," Rosalina said, setting herself. She waited several seconds as Richter, Roy, and Zelda had their hands full with the attacks. Then, as soon as Kass played a certain note, making all the figures scatter and attack random opponents again, Rosalina shouted, "STAR BIT SHOT!"

Suddenly, her orange Luma appeared and launched several Star Bits in one direction at an incredibly high speed. The Star Bits, within a second pierced Kass' accordion, making the sweet music sound clunky and terrible. "What the…?!" Kass shouted in shock. As he tried to play, the figures became fuzzy and distorted. Eventually, they disappeared entirely.

At that moment, Rosalina pointed her finger to the sky, causing her Spirit to launch itself into Kass, ripping the accordion apart. Kass shrieked in pain as his accordion completely split into two pieces. He fell to the ground, dropping his accordion. Richter withdrew his Spirit as Zelda and Roy both relaxed.

"I guess I owe you an apology," Zelda panted, turning to Rosalina, "If you weren't here, we probably wouldn't have made it out of that."

"Thanks," Rosalina said, "I understand where you were coming from. I wouldn't be so open and accepting if I were you your shoes either."

"Is that Rito fellow dead?" Roy asked, peeping at the body, which lay next to the stable.

"Luigi told us that any injury the Spirit endures is also endured by the Spirit Master," Zelda said, "And Rosalina's Spirit completely tore that accordion up."

"But, the Rito is still in one piece?" Roy said, looking at the body of Kass.

"If he's not dead, he's dying," Kirby answered, slightly angry and upset. He looked down at the body as well, "How did Bowser corrupt a good soul like Kass? He is truly dangerous if he's using others to do his bidding…"

* * *

That night, they all sat around a campfire outside of the stable, just chatting. Rosalina explained the route she took, which only took her seven or eight days. However, Kirby was quick to dismiss the quickness of her route. They were traveling with five people, and Spirit Masters under Bowser's influence were sure to strike at any moment. So, they all had to know that their route may be a little different and a lot longer.

"The good news is that we're only two-and-a-half days away from the Gerudo Desert," Kirby said, looking at his map, "But, it may take us a full week to travel across it, with how many Spirit Masters we may encounter there."

"Are you absolutely sure that we can't get any horses from now until then?" Roy asked, skeptically.

"Unless you want to hop on one to tame yourself, by all means go ahead," Richter said, Roy's constant insistence on horses getting on his nerves, "When you fail, don't coming back whining to us."

"I do not whine: I complain. There's a difference," Roy responded, picking at the fire with a stick.

"We'll be able to get some camels, but that's it," Kirby said, looking back at his map, "From the Gerudo Desert, we'll cross the Orange Ocean. Now, we'll have two possible routes from there; we can sail directly to Dreamland and land at the Ice Cream Islands. That journey is about three weeks, but it's a longer distance to Mt. Dedede because we'll have to cross a few mountains. Or, we can dock after five days to a week, in Sarasaland. From there, we'll need to cross Ylisse, and a few unmarked territories. It's longer than traveling by water, but we won't have to travel through the mountains; Mt. Dedede is the only one we'll have to climb."

"We'll get there when we get there," Zelda suggested, "Let's just worry about survival first."

"It's only been four days, or so, and we're already near the Gerudo Desert," Roy said, "And we've made it this far on our journey, battling against vampires and an enemy Spirit Master. Who knows what lays ahead of us."

"Like Zelda said, our main concern should be survival," Kirby explained. He let the seriousness of the situation fade slightly when he chuckled, "It's like we're going on a crusade against an evil that's hiding half-way across the world. At every chance, Bowser'll send Spirit Masters to stop us."

"Spirit Masters and monsters," Richter added, "I imagine many, many more vampires, werewolves, all of that…"

"And we only have a limited time to get there," Rosalina followed up, "Mario's condition worsens by the day…"

"My annointed knight…" Zelda muttered, looking at the ground with sorrow and anger in her eyes, "If we don't get there quickly, I'm afraid he'll meet a fate far more gruesome than Mario…"

"In any case, we should get some rest…" Kirby said, standing up, "We've got a long road ahead."

* * *

It was four weeks ago that Kirby traveled to Hyrule and met with Princess Zelda. And, in the same day, Zelda learnt the truth about her newly-acquired Spirit, and Wario swiftly defeated her before abducting Link. They traveled to the Mushroom Kingdom in order to train Zelda's Spirit, learning under Princess Peach and Luigi. Then, disaster struck with Mario, being attacked by a brainwashed Roy, forcing Zelda and Kirby to set out on a bizarre adventure to Dreamland to confront Bowser and his Spirit, whatever it may be.

Along with Kirby, Zelda has a few other companions who have joined along the way:

Roy, The Knight From Elibe. Not a Spirit Master, but a capable swordsman in his own right with the ability of dancing blade;

Richter Belmont and his Spirit, ALUCARD, THE SON OF DRACULA, with the abilities of animal and mist tranformation, teleportation, dark magic, and the Alucard Sword;

and, Rosalina and her Spirit, CO-STAR, with the abilities of long-ranged usage, ranged star-bit attacks, and unpresidented reconassaince.

Obviously, Princess Zelda herself has her own Spirit, PHANTOM WARRIOR, with the abilities of brute strength and defense, as well as graceful precision with the Wisdom Slash and the Phantom Beam.

With sixty-six days left until Mario meets a cruel fate, and even less time until Link meets a fate more gruesome, Zelda, Kirby, Roy, Richter, and Rosalina have a lot of land to cover: first they must travase the vast Gerudo Desert, with options of traveling to Dreamland by land or sea. Though one is shorter than the other, many Spirit Masters are on their way to intercept Zelda and put an end to this Crusade before it even starts. The road by sea would be much shorter than the road by land, but how much more dangerous would it be? For now, Zelda and company could not think about that: they must survive the trek to and through the Gerudo Desert first, afterall.


	6. A Perfect Being

_**PART II: SMASHDUST CRUSADERS**_

After what felt like weeks of traveling, Link was forced into Castle Dedede. Wario has taken him through Hyrule and the Gerudo Desert; though Link has no recollection of their journey as they crossed the Orange Ocean, he felt like it took an unusually short time to make it. As something knocked Link into the large, dark entrance of the castle, dusk settled in across Dreamland, and the moon's light clearly shined above the clouds that hovered around the peakes of the mountain range. Wario called for somebody, but Link could not hear who. Then, just as Wario took his cap off, he saw exactly who it was under the black cloak: Falco Lombardi. Immediately, Link stood up and drew back in disgust, reflexisvely moving to grab his sword. However, he pulled at nothing; his sword and shield were being held by Wario.

"Lord Bowser has been anticipating your arrival all day, Wario," Falco said, speaking through Link as if he were not there, "Do not keep him waiting."

"Jeez, who crapped in your cereal this morning?" Wario responded, placing his cap back on his head.

As Falco walked into another room, Wario forced Link to walk ahead. It took a while for Link's eyes to adjust to the darkness of the castle; the once lively color scheme of red and yellow appeared much more dull and grey, like a massive shadow had been cast upon it. Link walked up a few stairs and, ordered by Wario, turned to his left. They walked through another corridor towards another staircase, where Link spotted more traitors from the war against Dharkon. The most prominent two, as they was just putting on a hood, were Joker and Daisy. They did not look at him as Wario guided him past.

After what seemed like ages in a dark, slightly stuffy corridor, Link saw two large doors that must have lead to the master bedroom. Wario poked him in the back with the pommel of his blade, making Link open the door. When he opened it, he saw a large figure standing by the bed. The figure faced the window and he had dry blood on his claws. Link immediately knew who it was.

"I'm sorry that I'm later than expected, Lord Bowser," Wario announced with the bow of his head, "But, I have completed the mission. Standing before you now is Link, The Hero of Hyrule."

Bowser said nothing, still looking at the moonlight. After the tenth second of silence, Link became slightly unnerved, realizing now that he was at Bowser's complete mercy. The large Koopa finally turned to face Link, but his mouth was only visible from under his hood. "I sense resistance, even fear, in this room," he said, walking towards Link. However, he stopped mere feet in front of him and looked at Wario, "Leave us."

Obediently, Wario closed the door slowly. When the door was fully shut, Bowser eyed Link studiously. Link tried his best not to look intimidated, but he could not; there was something about Bowser that was messing with his head. Maybe it was the room, or the darkness, or the fact that Bowser described himself as Dharkon's successor. Then again, maybe it was a combination of all three.

"I originally sent Wario to bring you here so that I could feed off your life force," Bowser told slowly and clearly, though Link did not flinch, "Now I can see how I was so wrong. You shouldn't be fed on, despite your couragous soul and strong life force. Instead, maybe I can use you."

"I am not going to become one of your pawns, you filthy wanna-be Dharkon!" Link shouted, nearly spitting with every word. Bowser scoffed and turned back to face the window. Seeing this as his chance, Link swung his fist at him, hoping to launch the very escape he had been planning for days. However, he did not land it on Bowser: an invisible force stopped him from even touching Bowser, holding his arm mid-air. "What in Hylia's name...?!" Link cussed, trying to break free from whatever grabbed him. Quickly, he felt something jab into his neck. He tried to scream, but he could not; he felt light-headed, all of a sudden.

"Then again, who said that I'd have a choice?" Bowser sighed as Link dropped to his knees, his arm still dangling in the air. Soon, Link's vision began to fade as his body became limp. He collapsed onto his stomach, two puncture scars quickly forming on his neck.

The doors burst open, and Wario entered the room upon hearing the commotion. He saw Link's body on the ground, though he was barely breathing at this point. Turning his attention to Bowser, Wario said, "That was quick."

"I didn't take all of it," Bowser explained, "Bring him to the dungeon. When he wakes up, I want to show him how helpless he truly is. Maybe he'll submit to me then, and we can make use of his skills."

"Need I remind you that, the last time you did something like this, the Dark Lord was destroyed?" Wario responded, looking at Bowser oddly, "Because—"

"It'll be different this time," Bowser interrupted, "Back during the war, weapons like the Master Sword were bothersome. But now, with the Spirit I possess, weapons like that are useless. By showing him that there is no hope for his solace, he will submit to me. I'll break him, no matter what it takes."

* * *

After a couple of days of travel, Zelda, Kirby, Roy, Richter, and Rosalina reached their last destination before the trek across the Gerudo Desert, the Gerudo Canyon stable. It was a little before midday when they arrived, and Kirby thought that they could reach the Kara Kara Bazaar by sunset. They would spend the night before going to the much more comfortable Gerudo Town. Then, they would journey far into the desert.

"Camels'll cost you one hundred rupees each," the stableman informed Kirby, leaning on the counter, "That's the lowest I'll go."

"Look, I know for a fact that the Bazaar has camels for half that price, maybe even lower," Kirby responded, scanning the booth that the worker stood in, "What's stopping me from just walking there and buying them for cheaper?"

"About a ten to twelve hour walk in the desert heat," the stableman said, "And, judging from what you lot are wearing, I'd say that you wouldn't last twenty minutes."

Kirby turned around and, upon seeing the others, knew the stableman was absolutely right: Zelda still wore her long dress and jewelry, something that would make her heat like an oven under the intense heat; Richter was without sleeves, but his coat looked incredibly thick; Rosalina seemed to fine, her dress looking thin enough to breath under the sun; and, Roy wore entirely metallic armor, making him the equivalent of a human toaster. "Good grief…" Kirby sighed, turning away from them, "Guys, give me a minute… I'll sort this out."

Zelda looked at the road as Kirby began screaming with the stableman—it was something about respect, Zelda being the princess that nobody seemed to recognize south of Kakariko, and so on. The closer she stepped to the desert, it seemed, the hotter the temperature became. She heard somebody walk up next to her and say, "You think what that stableman said is true?"

Zelda turned her head and saw Richter loosening his headband. "I've been through the Gerudo Desert once, when I was little, and it wasn't a problem," she answered, "Then again, the weather was nothing like this."

"I guess we'll have to travel there after the sun goes down," Richter said, studying the desert landscape in front of them, "To be honest, I'd rather spend the extra money on camels than travel at night again. There could be monsters up ahead, waiting to ambush us when they have the advantage."

"That's exactly what Link would say," Zelda sighed, letting her sadness show slightly.

Seeing a sudden shift in her face, Richter muttered something to himself. He groaned and asked, "I'm sorry. I'm really bad at comforting people. Are… Are you worried about him at all?"

"Can you blame me?" she asked, looking down, "It's my fault that he was kidnapped; I couldn't stop Wario and his Spirit. The more time we waste, the closer Link is to death."

"I wouldn't be so certain that Dracula would kill him right away, if Bowser's Spirit is what we suspect," Richter said softly, "He may keep him around to serve, or to torment. I hope it's the former."

"_If_ he decides to keep Link alive," Zelda added, brooding strongly now. Again, she looked in the distance, now clasping her hands, "We're coming, my annointed Knight. Stay strong, wherever you are… Stay alive…"

"My final offer is seventy rupees each! If you don't want to buy, then leave!" the stableman roared, slamming his fist onto the counter. Kirby looked on, Rosalina and Roy standing behind him, as if they were children watching their parents fight.

"I'll pay seventy-five, but I get to keep your stupid hat," Kirby proposed smoothly. Clearly worked up, the stableman nodded, gritting his teeth. As Kirby smiled victoriously, the worker pointed in the direction of the camels, which were around the back.

"Wow, Kirby's an expert at haggling," Roy commented, watching Kirby take the worker's cowboy-esc hat, "He made the stableman angry, to a point where he'd accept any offer just to get us to leave."

"Creative strategy, but I wouldn't say he's an expert at it," Rosalina nodded in approval.

A minute later, Kirby appeared from the stable, guiding five camels towards the other four. "We'll get to the Kara Kara Bazaar by sunset," Kirby told them, "We can spend the night there, but we need to leave early tomorrow morning. We're about four days from Gerudo Town."

"Are we going to stay there?" Roy asked, confused, "Because males of any race aren't allowed inside."

"Easy solution; we'll stay outside the city," Richter suggested, climbing atop his camel with ease, "When we get to the Bazaar, remind me to buy some thinner clothing."

"We'll be okay," Kirby assured while Zelda and Rosalina climbed onto their camels, "He was just saying that to scare me into buying at his ridiculous price. There's nothing to worry about."

Richter shrugged. As his camel began moving ahead, Roy struggled to get onto his. Richter and Kirby led the way out of the Gerudo Canyon Stable and into the Gerudo Desert. Immediately, they all felt the intense heat of the sun. What did not help them was the fact it was midday, the hottest time of the day. However, as the four of them began sweating and breathing heavily, Kirby was nice and cool thanks to his hat.

* * *

Link could barely open his eyes as he struggled to come to consciousness. It took him a few seconds to realize where he was: a cell in the basement of Castle Dedede. Straight ahead of him was a single staircase with a few cloaked figures and an assortment of random villagers from nearby. Most of the villagers looked somewhat docile except for a Gerudo woman, who looked about a year older than Link. And, just from the body type of one of the cloaked figures, Link could tell that it was Wario. Wario saw that Link was awake and quickly waddled up the steps. A few minutes of studying the other cloaked figures later, deducing that they were Daisy and Joker, Bowser seemingly floated down the steps. His presence alone made the villagers either cower in fear or immediately kneel to him. Those who cowered were quickly smacked to be put in line again, all except for the same Gerudo woman. As Bowser drew closer to Link's cell, the Gerudo became increasingly hysterical to a point of nearly shrieking. Soon, Daisy smacked her in the back of the head to get her back in order. However, she was still acting crazed.

The display of power took Link by surprise, but the Gerudo woman's response really disturbed him. He looked over at who he thought was Daisy, and she tilted her head down to keep it hidden under her hood. "Feel any different, Hero?" Bowser asked, speaking softly, as if trying to charm Link.

"You deranged maniac," Link spoke up, trying to stand. Still weak, he could not push himself up, so he stayed on the ground, leaning on his hands, "I see what you're trying to do, and it won't work. The moment I find a way to get out of this cursed cell and retrieve the Master Sword, whatever's going on here will be over!"

"I wouldn't be so sure of yourself," Bowser warned, his voice sounding more threatening, "You really don't see the futility of your journey, do you? Even now, after I fed off half your life force, you scheme a way to escape. I will not deny that you're persistent, and your courage is admirable. But, you're an honorable fool."

"At least I have my honor! What do you have!?" Link shouted, grabbing the bars from his cell. He barely got to his feet by pulling himself up, but he had to lean on the bars; he was nowhere near as strong as before.

It seemed that Link's shouting made the Gerudo woman scream in fear again. Daisy cocked her hand back, but Bowser stopped her. He slowly approached the Gerudo, who stopped screaming but shook anxiously. "There's nothing to be afraid of," Bowser assured, slowly cupping the Gerudo's face caringly. She did calm down, much to Link's amazement, "I'll make it painless."

Suddenly, the Gerudo woman's eye grew, as if something were happening to her. Slowly, she became limp and colourless in Bowser's embrace. In a matter of seconds, she fell to the ground, no longer moving. Then, Link saw two puncture scars on her neck. Quickly, he felt his own neck, running his finger over his own. The other villagers around her were frozen in fear, others compelled to do nothing by intimidation. "Joker, Daisy, escort the villagers out of the castle," Bowser ordered casually. He did not even turn back to see Link's reaction, as if he already knew of his anger, "The Hero of Hyrule has seen enough."

"What about her…?" Daisy asked emotionless.

In response, Bowser shrugged, "Leave it behind as a reminder for the Hero. He needs to see what happens to those who resist."

Bowser took his time leaving the dark dungeon. Link could barely hold back his anger; it was just a waste of life all to intimidate him. As the villagers slowly shuffled out, some beginning to mourn, Link shouted, "You condone such behavior, Daisy!? You're nothing more than a murderer—!"

A sudden force pushed Link back from the bars. He hit the back wall of his cell hard, and fell to his straw bed on the ground. Although he was fading into unconsciousness, he heard Daisy say, "Ignorant fool."

* * *

"The trip here was torturous for all of us," Richter said, watching the sun set from outside a large, sandstone building, "I'm surprised Roy survived the trip; you know, with his metal armor and all."

Rosalina smirked, as did Kirby. Their couple hour camel trek across the beginnng of the Gerudo Desert was, as Richter described, torturous. But the Kara Kara Bazaar was like a stereotypical oyasis; a fairly large body of water with a handful of small palm trees on the small patch of soil that surrounded it. A small, albeit filled, market had been built there as a "half-way" point between the boarders of the Gerudo Desert and Gerudo Town. Zelda had taken Roy to get some desert-appropriate clothing while Rosalina, Richter, and Kirby looked for a place to stay. Luckily for them, there was an inn with limited beds available.

"It took about four hours, and it happened to be the hottest part of the day…" Kirby responded, "Roy looked like he was burning up pretty good."

"Well, he's not going to do to well if he doesn't smarten up. Maybe he'll exchange all that heavy armor for something light," Richter shrugged, "Then again, I could be wrong. Wouldn't be the first time…"

As he began brooding suddenly, Rosalina turned away quickly. "Anyways, Kirby, did you get us beds inside?" she asked, clearly trying to ignore Richter.

"Only four," Kirby responded, adjusting his self-described 'sweet' hat, "Somebody's going to have to sleep outside by one of the campfires."

"Well, because Roy had to the first night I met up with you guys, I think you should be the one to sleep outside," Rosalina reccomended, "I mean, we all heard you scream at that stableman today… Remember when Roy did the same thing, and you made him sleep on the ground instead of in a bed?"

Looking up, Kirby drew back, "Those are two different situations! Roy began complaining then escalated his conversation. I didn't start shouting until after the stableman disrespected us. Unlike Roy, I waited. I didn't start the fight, but I ended it."

"Hmm," Richter shrugged, turning to face the water. As the moon appeared in the darkening sky, the stars slowly reflected in it, _"I didn't start the fight, so I'm not the one at fault. _Sounds like victor's bias."

"Call it what you want, but the past is in the past; let's move on," Kirby said, looking down the market. As most places began closing, Kirby saw a fabrics and dyes stand beginning to close. Then, an idea popped into his head.

* * *

"Come on, I'm sure it doesn't look that bad," Zelda assured, trying to comfort Roy, "If anything, I really liked how it looked on the model."

"I only agreed to buy it because I don't have much of a choice," Roy muttered, his skin about as red as a lobster. His green armor had been tossed in the water the moment that they arrived at the desert, and it sizzled upon contact. Now, he had to wear something light, both in armor and colour. And, he held this new get-up in his hands, "There's no protection on the torso what-so-ever. I understand needing to be cool in a hot environment, but I'm just going to get sunburnt."

"We'll take care of that too," Zelda said, though Roy only nodded like a sulking child. As they returned to the inn, they saw Richter sitting on a rug. He faced a nearby campfire, and he had a hood over his face. When they were closer, Zelda saw that Richter's outfit had changed; his entire outfit was a prominent light blue and white, while his headband stayed a solid white. Even his hood, which attached to a cloak that Zelda had not noticed before, was white.

"Why are you out here by yourself, friend?" Roy asked, "And with new clothing?"

"It's the same as before, just a different colour," Richter responded, not breaking away from the fire, "Kirby found a stand that dyes fabrics. So, he took my top and changed the colour to something a little more… Desert-friendly."

"Well, where are the others?" Zelda asked, "Are they inside?"

"Kirby could only get four beds," Richter answered, his voice still brooding, "I need the night air anyway. My Spirit could use it; he's taken a beating today, and the night air'll help him heal a bit."

"Very well," Roy responded dismissively, "I'll be off to sleep; we have a big day tomorrow, don't we, Princess?"

Zelda shrugged as Richter's Spirit appeared. Son of Dracula looked slightly burnt from the sun, but it seemed to be recovering under the moonlight. Richter winced as his Spirit slowly healed. After a few seconds, Zelda followed Roy inside, and Richter's Spirit disappeared. Once they were inside the inn, they saw Kirby reading a book and Rosalina standing by a window. Zelda paid no attention to Kirby and walked straight for Rosalina. She caught Rosalina by surprise, as she jumped slightly when Zelda approached her from behind.

"What can you tell me about Richter's Spirit?" Zelda asked curiously.

"Well, his Spirit is that of Alucard, SON OF DRACULA," Rosalina explained, her own Spirit appearing next to her. As Co-Star peered out the window, looking at Richter sitting alone. Rosalina closed her eyes, only to open them a second later, "His Spirit cannot be used under direct sunlight, though it can be used indoors or under shade—"

"How does it heal?" Zelda asked, quickly interrupting her. She stopped herself, after realizing how rude she sounded, "Sorry, but… Can you tell me how his Spirit affects his body?"

"Okay…" Rosalina said, confused, "Um, if you don't mind me asking, why are you so concerned?"

"It's just that… He mentioned that his Spirit was greatly damaged by the sun today," Zelda explained, "It looked like his Spirit was feeding off his own body to heal."

"Well," Rosalina said, withdrawing Co-Star from the window. She sighed, "Richter's Spirit is vampiric, like Heart of Darkness, though not as bad. If it doesn't feed off another's life force to heal, it'll feed off Richter's."

Taken by surprise, Zelda turned away from the window, "So, Richter's Spirit is slowly killing him?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Rosalina nodded. She returned to face the window, looking down at Richter.

Hoping to lighten her mood, Zelda walked towards Roy and Kirby, who both sat on their respective beds. As Zelda sat on her's, which was next to Kirby's, Roy said, "…That's why nights like these remind me of the war against Galeem; that was, perhaps, the most united I have ever felt."

"Then, after Galen's defeat, Dharkon rose to power," Kirby said, regretfully, "Dharkon messed everything up, didn't he?"

"Some of us weren't around for the war against Galeem," Zelda chimed in as Rosalina walked away from the window, "My first memory from that whole situation was waking up in Link's arms as Kirby, Mario, and Peach looked around for someone."

"Let's not talk about that day," Kirby said. Surprised, Zelda complied and stopped herself from telling that story, "That wasn't a very good day."

"Was any day in Dharkon's Realm a "good day"?" Roy asked, kicking his feet up, "Mind you, I traveled with Marth, Samus, Ness, and Mega Man. Gods, what adventures were had in that realm."

"And all of them died in the final battle," Kirby remembered, "Then again, so many did…"

"But, if you think about it, we're in a pretty similar situation as we were four or five years ago, whenever the war against Dharkon happened," Roy suggested, putting his hands behind his head as he laid down, "A group of five to six former Smash Brothers, crusading over distances only covered by stardust fallng down from the sky, to stop an absolute evil from conquering the world with his army of minions."

"Let's not assume what Bowser's endgame is," Rosalina responded, "I was a spy there for years, and he never mentioned world domination; all he was concerned about was becoming as strong as possible."

"In the case he becomes a perfect being," Roy said, "What comes after that?"

"I'd rather not know," Kirby said, laying down in his own bed. As their conversation continued, Kirby was alone in his own thoughts, 'It's been a few days since Kass attacked us. That's been our longest stretch without being attacked by one of Bowser's minions. He must know that we're coming, but how? Is his Spirit that powerful? Good grief, Kirby, get some damn sleep. Even though nobody's attacked us, we've had a tiring couple of days…'

Just as Kirby quickly fell asleep, Zelda, Rosalina, and Roy's conversation turned back to what Roy mentioned earlier. The Smash Brothers quickly fell apart when Galeem attacked and had no chance of recovering once Dharkon rose from Galeem's ashes. And, right before Kirby's eyes shut, and his brain turned off, he heard Roy suggest a name for their group. However, Zelda and Rosalina shut it down. Then, he heard Rosalina toss in her own suggestion, "Smashdust Crusaders."

* * *

As Richter snuffed out his fire with the rug he was sitting on, he stomped out the remaining flames with his foot. At this time, it was probably two hours past midnight, and he was getting tired. The Bazaar resembled a ghost town at this time of night; all the stands and shops were empty, and their displays had been stored away. Richter was the only person outside under the moonlight. But, he was used to situations like this.

When the fire was finally out, Richter prepared to get some rest. As he laid back on the rug, something alerted him. He immediately stood up and let his arm fall to his side. His eyes shot all around the empty Bazaar. After a few seconds, he finally saw something, someone, rather, walking menacingly towards him. Richter's life energy began glowing from his body as his Spirit, Son of Dracula, appeared behind him. While the figure drew closer, Richter realized who it was. And, slowly, orange life energy began surrounding her, making her seemingly glow.

"Samus…?"


	7. Varia Feature

Just as Richter's Spirit appeared in front of him, he saw an orange figure appear behind Samus. She held two fingers up and pointing them at the sky, sending the figure forward; it was her old Varia Suit, seemingly operating on it's own. Hoping to get something out of this encounter before an inevitable fight, Richter stopped his Spirit from advancing. Then, Samus stopped walking as well.

"Richter Belmont. Fancy seeing you here," Samus said, putting a hand on her hip, "If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to make this quick."

"Last time I saw you, you were in that power suit. It's your Spirit now?" Richter asked, still standing in the same spot. Behind him, Son of Dracula waited patiently with his Sword drawn.

"Strange world we live in, isn't it?" Samus commented as if she wanted to move along fast, "Now, like I said, I'd like to make this quick. Lord Bowser and his disciples don't have time to waste on people who think themselves to be heroes."

"How did you know that we—?"

"I wish I could tell you how Lord Bowser knows. I really do," Samus interrupted, rather calmly and with a flare of sass in her voice, "But, you know, I wouldn't be a very good servant to the Dark Lord if I did."

_"The Dark Lord," _Richter responded, quoting that title with his hands, "It seems that our suspicion is right, then; Bowser's Spirit is Dracula."

Seemingly annoyed now, Samus rolled her eyes and clinched her fist, "Okay, this conversation has gone on for far too long."

"Oh?" Richter responded, knowing that he struck a nerve with his previous statement. He decided to take this opportunity to use his own sass, "Here I was, just assuming that two friends were catching up on old times."

"Lord Bowser will sing my praises if I kill you, Belmont," Samus stated, trying to sound intimidating. They began to approach each other again, but Richter stopped suddenly. The loud stomp of his feet took Samus by surprise, evident from her slight jump.

"Go ahead; come at me," Richter shrugged, putting his arms out to challenge Samus, "I'm waiting."

Again, in the silent desert night, there was no movement. At this point, they were only ten or so feet apart. Richter put his arms down, and he could not help but to smile, "Hmm… You didn't move. Your Spirit cannot work over distances above ten, or so, feet."

"You're right," Samus said with a tilt of her head, "I cannot manifest my Spirit a great distance from me. But, it's not short-range, like you're expecting it to be."

Suddenly, her Spirit floated around her and shot a missile straight towards Richter. He ducked quickly, his Spirit vanishing, and the missle flew just over his head. It collided and exploded with the inn's door, leaving a large hole in it's place. "My Spirit, VARIA FEATURE, can use a variety of weapons—or projectiles, as Simon calls them—to make up for it's lack of distance," Samus explained as her Spirit lifted it's arm cannon, "This one's my personal favourite; CHARGE SHOT!"

As Richter slowly rose to his feet, Varia Feature began charging something in it's arm cannon. A few seconds later, Richter dove to his left as Varia Feature launched a large blue ball of energy at him, barely missing him. Thinking quickly, Richter flicked his finger towards Samus, and his Spirit transformed into a wolf, holding it's sword in it's mouth. Son of Dracula appeared within range of Samus' Varia Feature, and she flashed a smug grin. Before Son of Dracula could execute it's attack, Varia Feature lumbered in front of Samus, who shouted "Cover Fire!". Out of the arm cannon launched fire, making Richter's Spirit disappear into mist.

"Damn! It's quick for it's size and strength," Richter muttered, rubbing his left arm to cool it down, "If I keep my distance, she'll just use her missiles or Charge Shot…"

"Like I said, I want to make our encounter quick," Samus repeated, "I and, more importantly Lord Bowser, have no time this."

"I didn't want to do this, but you've forced my hand," Richter shouted, unveiling his whip, Vampire Killer. Although the whip slowly burned into his grip, Richter grabbed the middle of the whip and stretched it out between his two hands. As soon as he saw Samus take a step with her Spirit, Richter knew she was within range. Life energy appeared around him, and he sent Son of Dracula, in bat form, forward. Samus quickly called Varia Feature out, and it absorbed the blow from Richter's Spirit without flinching. While her Spirit was occupied, Richter spun around and flung the whip forward, cracking Varia Feature in the helmet. However, it was completely unaffected. Then, just as Samus began to laugh, Richter pulled his whip back, smacking Samus in the chest. She fell backwards, crashing into a nearby grocery stand.

"Her Spirit was uneffected by Alucard's attacks and my own, but she wasn't," Richter thought aloud, "Maybe that's the strategy to defeating her."

Approaching the grocery stand, Richter looked around to find Samus, but she had disappeared. Then, he heard a noise behind him. Quickly, he summoned his Spirit, who brought his sword up; luckily for Richter, Son of Dracula caught the foot of Varia Feature. Had it not, Richter would have been dropped-kicked by Samus' Spirit. Richter's Spirit tossed Varia Feature back as Samus stood completely still, apparently not feeling her Spirit's pain. "This has gone on for long enough," Samus said, letting her frustration show, "I can tell you're hurting badly right now. Just stop fighting; Bowser could use another Belmont, you know."

Just as Son of Dracula teleported behind Samus, Varia Feature curled into a ball and rolled, appearing between them. A small bomb had been emitted during the roll, and it blew up on Richter's Spirit, causing it to catch fire. Feeling the impact of the explosion directly, Richter drew Son of Dracula back. He stayed standing despite the sharp pain in his side. "Good God, you're tough to break," Richter muttered, tugging at Vampire Killer again.

"My Spirit is incredibly durable," Samus explained, "Lord Bowser showed me my true potential after the final battle; he was there for me when nobody else was."

"You betrayed us and murdered Marth!" Richter screamed, "Then, you tried to kill me! Do you not remember that!?"

"Of course I remember," Samus said, about begin talking more. However, she saw Richter wince as he grabbed Vampire Killer again, "Oh, don't get me on a monologue. That's just a low-blow."

Richter grabbed his whip and sent a lash out as fast as he could. Varia Feature absorbed the blow, and, with Samus completely unaffected, she ordered the next attack. Her Spirit unleashed a Charge Shot directly towards Richter as he brought his whip back. It connected with his chest, and Richter flew backwards nearly twenty feet. He landed in the oyasis next to the inn, his body floating atop the water. As soon as Varia Feature vanished, Samus collapsed to a knee, breathing incredibly heavily. Before she could head over to Richter and finish him, she heard somebody in the inn wake up. Quickly, Samus left the Bazaar just as an innkeeper walked outside.

* * *

Kirby woke up to the sounds of a panic; Rosalina had been up for some hours, it seemed, while Roy and Zelda were only awake a few minutes before himself. When he looked outside, dawn had just broken over the horizon. He stumbled out of bed and grabbed his hat, seeing Richter's body laying on a bed across the large room from his own. His palms and arm seemed burnt, and his chest looked like it had been deeply bruised by something.

"What the hell happened!?" Kirby asked, walking next to Rosalina as Zelda and Roy got closer to their fallen friend.

"It must be the work of an enemy Spirit," Rosalina replied, staring at Richter. As Kirby's eyes went around the room, he saw Co-Star floating around, touching all the books in sight, "Richter wouldn't have touched Vampire Killer if it wasn't."

"He looks badly hurt… He's lucky to still be breathing," Roy sighed, kneeling down next to Roy. Before anything else was added, Richter opened his eyes barely.

The Belmont spoke slowly as an innkeeper and Co-Star came back, one of them with a bowl of hot water, "Samus… Samus Aran…"

"Samus is still alive?" Roy muttered, "I was told that she died in—"

"Her Spirit… Varia Feature… Don't fight her Spirit," Richter advised, slowly drifting back to unconsciousness, "Fight her…"

"Fight her what?" Roy asked, becoming confused. He looked to Zelda, who just stared down at Richter with a look of horror and anger on her face. As Roy fell back unconscious, Roy exclaimed, "Fight her what!?"

"Roy, that's enough!" Rosalina shouted, trying to get him to relax. She took a breath, "Co-Star did another analysis on his condition. He's bleeding internally, and he's got water in his lungs, but he's stable. A few days of rest should do the trick; he'll be back in shape to travel."

"But we can't afford to stay here for a few days," Kirby rebutted, "We have sixty-two days left until Mario dies or worse, and we have even less time for Link. If we stay here for a few more days—"

"We can't leave Richter behind though," Roy said staunchly, "If he's here alone, who's to say that Samus, or a Spirit Master more powerful, won't come back here to finish the job?"

"But, if we travel with him, as he is right now, he'll die," Rosalina explained, her voice raising slightly, "Do you understand that? According to my Spirit's analysis, he'll be okay to travel in a few days."

"Good grief…" Kirby sighed, looking down at the ground, "We have some decisions to make soon, and all our option seem to involve fatal consequences."

"Maybe we should take a few hours to think about it?" Rosalina suggested, "We need to make sure we make the right decision."

Sighing again, Kirby looked at Richter, "Unfortunately, this decision has to be made now. We don't have time to list all the pros and cons of each of our choices."

As the three of them thought to themselves in silence, Zelda spoke softly, "I'll stay behind with Richter." She stood up as the others gave her their full attention, "You're right, Kirby: we have no time to lose. But, Rosalina and Roy have good points, too. If we split up, then you three can travel ahead, and Richter and I will catch up. You can clear a path for us, if you want to think about it like that."

"What if you get attacked, Princess?" Roy asked, trying to think, "In an event where two Spirit Masters, or monsters, attack you, how can you defend yourself and Richter?"

"I'll figure it out," Zelda shrugged, "I'm sure I'll be fine, really."

"I don't like it as much as you, Roy, but maybe that's the least-worst route," Kirby sighed, "Splitting up never works out for anyone involved."

"Then again, our other options don't give us much of a choice," Rosalina added, looking down at Richter.

* * *

Several hours had passed since Kirby, Roy, and Rosalina began their journey south towards Gerudo Town. According to Kirby, the trip to Gerudo Town was only a day or so, not as long as Zelda remembered when she was a child. However, with the monsters lurking and the potential Spirit Masters targeting them at every turn, a day's journey may turn into a couple days' journey. Hopefully, by the time Richter is ready to travel, Kirby, Rosalina, and Roy will have arrived in Gerudo Town and been waiting a day or two, at the most. Then, their journey to the much greener coast would be a week from there.

Lately, Zelda found herself charting out the remainder of their journey in her mind. This happened especially when she were doing a mindless task, like trying to sleep or riding a camel. However, this time it was while she walked back from the market to the inn. The innkeepers were nice enough to let Richter stay, free of charge, until his wounds were healed enough to travel. Zelda wiped the sweat from her forehead and carried her bag up the stairs to the beds. There, she saw Richter resting, several bandages on his arm. She set her bags down and closed the blinds of a nearby window.

"Where are the others…?" Zelda heard somebody mumble. She turned around and saw Richter laying down, one of his eyes slightly opened.

Zelda walked to Richter's bed and sat next to him, "They're getting a head start. You're staying in bed for a few days; you've been beaten up pretty badly."

"We don't have time—!" Richter tried to get up from his bed but could not. He stopped talking and froze, closing his eyes in pain. Zelda stood up and almost forced Richter to lay back down in his bed.

"All this talk about "time" is getting annoying," Zelda commented as she made Richter relax his head onto a pillow, "As much as I'd like to get to Dreamland as soon as possible, I'm not going to let my friends suffer when they don't have to. Plus, we do have time on our side… Well, for now, anyways; might as well use it, right?"

Richter sighed, still relenting from relaxing his broken body, "I guess… Who else stayed back? Is Roy around? Or Kirby?"

"No, it's just us," Zelda answered, "If Samus attacks us, then we better hope that it's in the shad, or at night, huh?"

Now, Richter sat up like a man possessed. He turned his head over to Zelda and asked, "Is she still around!? Didn't you finish her off?!"

"Richter, relax," Zelda said, again standing up to make him lay back down, "Rosalina said you're bleeding internally and you have water in your lungs. Lay down and rest."

"Zelda, you don't understand," Richter said, "Samus' Spirit is nearly invincible to physical and magical attacks. The only way to stop a Spirit as powerful and durable as that is to defeat the Spirit Master."

"If she attacks us, then I know how to defeat her," Zelda quickly shrugged off, trying to make Richter relax with her own calm nature, "For now, get some rest. I've bought some fruit for you; it's not much, but it'll help you recover."

"Fruit…? Look, you're clearly too calm to understand the power behind Samus' Spirit! And that's only making me more frustrated because—!" Richter began once again, gradually sitting up.

For the last time, Zelda stood up and made Richter lay back down, "No, I understand fully. I'm just trying to get you to relax and rest."

"Zelda, look at me and tell me you understand the dire sitation we're in right now," Richter demanded, "If you do that, I'll feel much safer than I do right now."

Zelda shook her head and knelt next to Richter's bed. There, she looked him right in the eyes and said, "I promise you that I know and understand the dire situation we're currently in. Now, get some sleep and eat some fruit; we're going to try to leave in two days."

* * *

It was just about the hottest time of the day. Kirby had taken point on this day's travel, and Rosalina and Roy were about five feet behind. While Kirby had a hat on, and Rosalina has bought a scarf to cover her head, Roy had chosen to buy a full set of mail Gerudo Armor, with the help of Zelda. The armor was bright and colourful, but, as Roy found aesthetically annoying, the armor's top only had one shoulder pad an an arm sleeve, with two emerald gauntlets. Although Roy complained about that, he was much more talkative than their journey to the Bazaar, so he was not has hot.

"…You know, I wouldn't have chosen this poorly-designed outfit had it not been for the Princess' eye, which, if I do say so myself, is rather poor in terms of fashion," Roy continued an earlier remark to Rosalina and Kirby, the latter of whom had stopped listening an hour ago.

"If you think this outfit doesn't look as good as your metal armor that you wanted to wear in a desert, then you're the one who doesn't have an eye for fashion," Rosalina commented, looking at the rolling hills of sand ahead.

"What's your opinion on this subject, Kirby?" Roy asked, perking his head up at the lead camel.

After a long breath, Kirby said, "My opinion? I liked it better when you were dying of heat exhaustion and sunburns; I could actually listen to myself think."

Kirby's remarks were followed by silence, of which Rosalina tried not to giggle. Then, Roy broke it, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Before Kirby could respond with something snarky, he heard Rosalina shout something. Directly ahead of Kirby was a missile, hurling towards him. Quickly, Kirby jumped off his camel, who bore the brunt of the damage. As the camel fell to the ground, crashing down hard, Rosalina and Roy looked straight ahead, seeing Samus standing on the sand in front of them. Kirby struggled to his feet, panting from his fall. Rosalina joined him, followed by Roy shortly after.

"How's Belmont doing?" she asked, her Spirit nowhere in sight, "I didn't get to see him before I left the Bazaar."

"Don't approach her," Rosalina warned, putting her arm in front of Roy, "Her Spirit, I've seen it before; Varia Feature doesn't have much range, but it's incredibly powerful and durable."

"We'll see about that," Roy said, drawing his sword. He held it in front of his chest, so the blade faced the sky, swinging it down to strike the sand below his feet, "I know what you did in the war against Dharkon; you're nothing more than a murderous traitor!"

Roy charged Samus, much to Rosalina and Kirby's dismay. As Roy lunges towards Samus, Varia Feature appear and smacked Roy in the head with it's arm cannon. Roy's body flew sideways, into a sandy hill. Kirby took a step to check on him, but he heard Samus' Spirit begin to charge something in it's arm cannon.

"Don't," she warned, "You told him what would happen if he approached me."

Rosalina quickly summoned her Spirit, Co-Star. As Co-Star began floating close to Rosalina, she spoke up, "Let's move on from talking about the past. How did you know we'd be here? Did Bowser tell you? Is Heart of Darkness powerful enough to know things like this?"

"I'd be a terrible follower if I gave you that information, wouldn't I?" Samus responded, pointing her finger at Rosalina, "Charge Shot."

Varia Feature fired a blast towards Rosalina. Quickly, Rosalina dodged it and shouted, "Star Bit Shot!"

When Co-Star executed the attack, Star Bits shot out of it, flying towards Samus at high speeds. However, Varia Feature stepped in front of her, taking all the damage; the Bits seemed to deflect off Varia Feature, some even coming back towards Rosalina. She felt a Star Bit year through her dress, luckily not clipping any skin.

"Impossible…" Rosalina muttered, looking on in astonishment, "Nobody could just reflect Star Bit Shot; it's too fast!"

"It's not that Varia Feature has the quickness to deflect it," Kirby responded, "It's armor must be so durable and strong that it just deflects attacks like Star Bit Shot."

Samus half-grinned, letting some cockiness show, "Bingo. I see you still remember what made my Varia Suit so impressive, Kirby: enhanced strength, enhanced shields, enhanced speed. The only thing my Spirit lacks is a life-absorbing functionality. But, I suppose that, if my Spirit were perfect, this would be just unfair."

"Don't get too cocky," Kirby advised, fixing his hat to be straight, "Just because your Spirit is flawless does not mean that you are."

"That's it…" they heard Roy mutter from the sand he tiredly rose to his feet, "Don't fight her Spirit… Fight her."

"If we keep Samus distracted long enough, one of us can actually defeat her rather than her Spirit," Kirby thought quietly. He turned to Rosalina and nodded his head. Seemingly at the same time, the three of them acted.

Rosalina ran towards Samus and slid on the sand while commanding Co-Star to fire Star Bits. Like the time before, Varia Feature appeared and stood in front of Samus. While it deflected the Bits, Samus' Spirit charged its attack. A few seconds later, it fired a massive blue shot at Rosalina with Samus' command. It connected with Co-Star, launching the Spirit, and Rosalina, back several feet. Next, Varia Feature turned and attacked Kirby with a single kick of it's leg. Kirby, who had been first hit with the heel, slammed into the ground, his hat coming off. Varia Feature disappeared to deal with Roy, who tried to sneak up from behind. Varia Feature attacked Roy, but Roy slashed it across the chest. An identical wound was cut into Samus' chest at the same time, but she was unaffected.

"I'm impressed; that was the first hit somebody landed on me in years." Samus complimented, though half-heartedly, "And it only took three of you to do it."

Again, Kirby was slow to get back to his feet. He brought his eyes up to see Samus, who looked menacing with her life energy ungulfing her body while her Spirit, Varia Feature, stood behind her, pointing it's arm cannon at Kirby. Kirby then looked down, through Samus' legs, and saw Roy getting up from the ground with his sword ready.

"Varia Feature," Samus called, raising two fingers while being her hand to her side, "Cover Fi-!"

Suddenly, from Kirby's view, a sword was run through Samus' body, causing her to go limp. Kirby took a step back and saw Roy behind her, panting heavily. He withdrew the blade, making Samus' legs buckle as she tried to speaks; in a second, Samus fell onto her knees, trying to control her breathing to no avail. Rosalina slowly approached the wounded Bounty Hunter as Kirby fixed his hat and got close to her.

"How did Bowser know where we were? How many more people is he sending after us?" Kirby asked. Samus did not respond, just breathing and increasingly looking crazed.

Roy cleaned his blade with the side of his pants and sheathed it. When Kirby looked at him, Roy spoke up, "Listen, you're going to die anyways; I made sure of that. You might as well tell us what we want to know."

"I'm loyal to Lord Bower until the bitter end," Samus muttered before falling into her back. Her arms sprawled above her head as she lay back, staring directly up at the sky, "I'll keep his secrets to the grave and beyond. You won't get anything out of me…"

They soon abandoned Samus Aran, the rogue bounty hunter who betrayed them for Dharkon. Later on that day, Samus' Spirit, Varia Feature, would leave her body as she died in the middle of that sand road, taking her loyalty to Bowser to the grave as she promised.

* * *

After the run-in with Samus, Kirby, Rosalina, and Roy ventured for a few more hours with the two remaining camels; Kirby had his own while he made Roy and Rosalina share one. They soon found a spot that would make for a perfect camp; a clearing with two single palm trees. When the sun had set, Roy immediately made a fire with some flint from Kirby and his own blade. Kirby sat on the ground, looking at a map of their current location. Meanwhile, Roy leaned against one of the camels that was asleep, as was Rosalina.

"I felt kind of bad for just leaving Samus like that," Rosalina said with a sigh, "There can't be a lonelier feeling than dying alone, in the middle of nowhere, thousands of miles away from friends and family."

"She got what she deserved," Roy commented, beginning to lounge on the hump of the sleeping camel, "For everything she did in the war against Dharkon, even for the things that we don't know about… She had it coming."

"For betraying us?" Rosalina asked, clearly unaware.

Seeing this, Roy shrugged, "If only Richter were here to tell the story…"

When Kirby looked at Roy, he could see that he became fully seriously evident from the look of dread on his face. He shifted his body and leaned forward as Roy spoke, "While exploring the lands of the Dark Realm, Marth, Richter, Samus, Ike, and Ness were traveling together. Strange combination, I know. I think they were on their way to get Lucina. Then, Samus murdered Marth in his sleep; straight stabbed him in the back. As Marth bled out, Samus slit Ness' throat. Richter and Ike were lucky enough to wake up from Marth's screaming."

"My God, that's horrible," Rosalina muttered, shaking her head as she looked at the ground.

"According to Ike, Samus looked possessed," Roy added, his voice still low, "Her eyes were yellow, and her life energy appeared to be purple—but not like the same colour as Zelda's."

"That means Samus was completely in a right state of mind when she attacked us," Kirby deduced, "Bowser doesn't possess people like Dharkon did. Somehow, he makes them think that he's an all-powerful being worthy of dying for."

"Samus might be an omen for the rest of them," Roy suggested, looking down at the fire, "If they all act as loyal as she did, who knows what kinds of lengths they'll go to stop us."


	8. Music of the Mask

Using her Co-Star, Rosalina was able to contact Luigi's Mr. L through a phone-call esc technique, STAR COMMUNICATION. She wished to update Luigi on their journey thus far, and to hopefully hear more about Mario's worsening condition. While Rosalina stood on a sandy hill, Kirby and Roy stood about twenty feet away, at the gates of Gerudo Town, in front of two large, muscular Gerudo guards armed with spears.

"Richter and Zelda should be here by tomorrow," Rosalina told, her head tilted up towards the sky, watching the sun slowly fall in the sky, "Samus did a number on Richter, but she won't be an issue anymore."

"That's a relief to hear," she heard Luigi mutter, "Varia Feature is a tough Spirit to crack. Are you absolutely sure that she was the only Spirit Master in your way?"

"It's hard to say, but, if there is any more, they're not as dangerous as she is. Zelda and Richter should be fine," Rosalina responded, "Zelda's become very proficient with Phantom Warrior, and Richter is, well, an expert with his Son of Dracula. They can take on whatever crosses them, if anything does."

"Yes, well you can spare to give them about a day or two grace period," Luigi explained, his voice becoming filled with dread, "By my calculations, Mario still has sixty days until… You know…"

Rosalina sighed, looking towards the gate of Gerudo Town, "Don't worry, Luigi. We'll get to Dreamland and stop that monster as soon as we can."

At the gate, Roy crossed his arms stubbornly and eyed the guards maliciously, "It's not cultural appropriation!" he claimed, "How is anything about my outfit disrespectful?"

"Isn't it obvious, you idiot voe!?" the guard on the left quickly snapped back, "You clearly are not a Gerudo, yet you wear our armor, style your hair in a fashion that is culturally important to us, and carry around our weaponry? You might as well paint your skin to match our own!"

"If I didn't "appropriate" your culture, as you suggest I am, I would be dead!" Roy shouted, clearly getting increasingly angry, "You think I wanted to wear this outfit? I DIDN'T HAVE A CHOICE!"

"Roy, enough," Kirby said, pushing Roy back to create distance from the guards, "There's no point in arguing a fight you can't win. The Gerudo are stubborn with males; stop wasting your energy."

"I'm just trying to defend myself from the slanderous claims from that woman!" Roy yelled, pointing at the guard whom he was arguing with.

Kirby rolled his eyes, "There's no point, Roy. Drop it."

At this point, Kirby had forced Roy back to about the same hill that Rosalina stood on. Co-Star was withdrawn as Rosalina began to speak, "Mario's not doing much better: he has sixty days left."

"Let's just hope that Zelda and Richter are close," Kirby nodded, "We maybe can spare a day waiting around."

"Luigi said to take two," said Rosalina, "If they encounter something on the road, then they'll take longer than we did."

* * *

After picking up some supplies, Zelda rode beside Richter as they left the Kara Kara Bazaar for Gerudo Town. The sun had just risen, so they planned on getting the entire trip done in a day, though it would be incredibly long. If they had to travel at night, even if it was only for a few hours, then they would. Zelda figured that, the longer they took to get to Gerudo Town, the less time they would have to complete their journey to Dreamland.

"The last time I traveled to Gerudo Town was when I was a kid," Zelda said to Richter as their camels walked down a long, flat road. Nothing was in front of them, besides a few small hills of sand, "My mother took me down here to visit the Chief of this territory. I can't remember her name right now, but I know her daughter; she's the current Chief."

"You think you can convince her to let me stay in the Town, even for just a night?" Richter asked, half-serious.

Shrugging, Zelda cracked a small smile, "I wish. You have to understand that the Gerudo are extremely traditional. A male, or "voe" in their language, are born once every few generations, and I don't even know if they would be allowed in the city; it's a very female-dominated culture. My mother would always tell me to look to the Gerudo Chiefs as role models."

Nodding, Richter asked, "You say males are born once every few generations? Safe to say, once every century, or so?"

"Yeah, I guess that's a good estimate," Zelda nodded back, making eye-contact with Richter, "Why do you ask?"

"How do they reproduce?" Richter asked, his tone somewhat ignorant, "I mean, sure, they can wander towards Hyrule and look for mates, but wouldn't that completely destroy the Gerudo bloodline? Their offspring, which I assume would be a daughter, would only be half-Gerudo, then her daughter would be one-quarter, and so on."

"I… I don't know," Zelda pondered, "I guess I'll ask Chief Riju when we get to Gerudo Town."

They journeyed for a few more hours, casually talking every now and again, until it was past midday. As Richter adjusted his white hood, and Zelda drank some water, they heard a song being played on a flute. At this point in their journey, there were some steeper hills of sand, with dead trees in their clearings. As the sounds of the flute became louder, they saw the remains of a campfire. "This must be where Rosalina, Kirby, and Roy stopped last night," Richter noted, looking down at the burnt sticks.

"You think they fought Samus before or after they rested?" Zelda pondered, checking their surroundings, "I don't see anything left over around here; no burn marks in the ground, no divots in the ground, or damaged surroundings… And there's no body or shallow grave."

"Damn, Princess… That's dark," Richter said, his voice shocked as Zelda's became more studious, "I'm sure that they fought her further ahead."

As they resumed down the road, the music became louder. Finally, it seemed Richter had enough, "Do you hear that? Or am I going crazy? It's been the same tune for the past twenty or so minutes."

"Oh yeah, I hear it," Zelda said, "And, we're getting closer to it. The source is probably just up ahead."

The calmness in Zelda's voice startled Richter, prompting him to say, "And you're not concerned? What if it's an enemy Spirit Master, sent by Bowser because he knows that we're separated from our travel group?"

"From the other _Smashdust Crusaders_?" Zelda said with a giggle, "I'm sure if it were an enemy Spirit, Rosalina, Roy, and Kirby would've taken care of it."

"From the other _what_?" Richter questioned, keeping his same pace as Zelda made her camel move faster. He caught up to Zelda as she saw the source of the music; on the stump of a dead tree, Zelda saw a small child-sized figure playing a flute while dancing, hopping from one leg to the other. This thing wore orange and green, colours that seemed to fit in better in a forest than a desert. This made Zelda smile, as she knew the tune that he was playing. She stepped off her camel, making Richter do the same.

"Excuse me, Princess, but can you explain to me what's happening?" Richter asked, making sure that his white hood covered his head.

"It's a Skull Kid," Zelda still grinned, "I've never seen one this far south before; usually, they're inside or near the Lost Woods. Here, hold this."

Zelda handed Richter her satchel quickly. From one of the satchel's pockets, Zelda pulled out a beige ocarina, taking a breath. She began playing the same tune as the Skull Kid, which made it stop and tilt its head curiously. Zelda only played for a short while, and, when she was done, the Skull Kid laughed with a high voice. To Zelda, it was a cute, happy laugh. However, Richter drew back, as if the laugh made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. His eyes widened as the Skull Kid began to play again. This time, however, it was a different tune. Zelda put her ocarina back in her satchel, taking back from Richter.

"One thing I've learned is that Skull Kids love music," Zelda explained, her mood clearly still high. They began walking again, the music from the Skull Kid growing increasingly distant, "My father taught me that song that the Skull Kid was playing; apparently, it's called _Saria's Song_. It's the song of the Lost Woods, and it's repetition helps adventurers cross through it."

"You don't think that it's unusual that a Skull Kid is in the Gerudo Desert?" Richter asked, seeing the remains of another campfire. Assuming that it was from the Skull Kid, Richter did not say anything, "Say what you want about the Skull Kids, but they sure creep me out."

"Really? A _Skull Kid_ gives a Belmont the creeps? Vampires are no match for the great Richter Belmont, but a Skull Kid is too scary?" Zelda teased, though Richter gave no reaction, "I'm sure that Rosalina, Roy, and Kirby came across that same Skull Kid. Because it's still there, it must not be anything."

They journeyed for a few hours and then they saw something in the distance, just as the sun began to set. However, it was not Gerudo Town, like each of them was expecting; it was the Kara Kara Bazaar. Shocked, Richter looked at the Bazaar, "Um, Princess, did we just walk the wrong way?"

"No we didn't," Zelda said, "I made sure that we didn't… The only time we stopped was to see the Skull Kid, and we were never turned around… Were we?"

Zelda turned to Richter, who removed his hood. She looked down his body, until she noticed something unusual about him: his whip, Vampire Killer, which was primarily on his right hip, was on his left. And, when Zelda looked up, she saw that his hair seemed to be styled the opposite way it was from the morning. These differences, however, were so small that she did not even notice them before.

* * *

The only lights around Roy and Kirby were from Gerudo Town, forty or so meters away from them. Rosalina was permitted entry into the Town, but Roy and Kirby were not. Kirby had tried to plead his case with the guards, but they had heard about _him_ from his travels before. And, any chance Roy had of getting in, which was slim to begin with, was virtually non-existent after his little argument with the guards earlier. Roy laid on his back while Kirby sat down, his hat just to his right. As Roy admired the stars above them, Kirby heard somebody approaching them. He turned and saw Rosalina walking towards them with some food and water in her hands. She handed Kirby the food while Roy sat up.

"That market is wonderful," Rosalina said, "They're all so nice and welcoming. I actually spent most of the day speaking with other travelers."

When Roy took the water from Rosalina's hand, he noticed that she wore a vibrantly pink, light fabric top with green pants to compliment it. Though Roy thought she looked nice, he spoke in a manner that suggested the opposite, "How come they let you wear that without hassle?! I got crap for wearing _this outfit_ just to survive the trip!"

"Oh, the innkeepers gave me some pajamas to wear when they noticed I didn't have any," Rosalina responded sweetly, not aware of Roy's frustration.

"That's so unfair!" Roy yelled, his voice echoing in the dark desert, "Those damn, hypocritical Gerudo! I hate this place…"

"Good grief, quit the complaining," Kirby sighed. He chose to ignore Roy's childlike mood and asked Rosalina, "Have you tried to contact Zelda and Richter?"

"Unfortunately, Co-Star's Star Communication is only compatible with similar Spirits," Rosalina explained regretfully, "Phantom Warrior is a short-range Spirit with incredibly power, defense, and precision, while Son of Dracula can extend its range a little further, but it won't work. We'll have to wait patiently."

"If they don't show up by tomorrow night, we'll have to keep moving," Kirby said, "We don't have much of a choice."

* * *

Only staying at the Bazaar a short while, Zelda and Richter began journeying towards Gerudo Town again. This time, however, they did not talk at all; each of them was trying to figure out how they were turned around without physically being turned around. While Richter did not have a clue, just assuming it to be the work of an enemy Spirit, Zelda had an idea. She had heard rumours of the Mask's return after the time of Dharkon, but she refused to believe them.

Though their journey seemed longer, it was actually incredibly more efficient. They set out an hour after sunset, and they heard the music again a few hours past midnight. The relative flatness of the Desert allowed Richter and Zelda to scope out any approaching enemies, and, because of the night, Richter could easily take care of them with his Spirit. The sounds of the flute co-incited with an attack; Zelda saw a figure running towards them with great speed. However, Son of Dracula appeared and made light work of the figure. With two slashes of his sword, the figure fell to the ground, it's arms and legs fading into dust. As it laid back, dissolving away, Zelda saw the fangs inside its mouth.

"Vampires in the desert don't fair very well," Richter spoke up; those were the first words spoken since they started traveling again, "It's like an Atheist in a Church: they're out of their element in a Holy place of worship."

"I honestly don't know how you come up with some of the stuff that comes out of your mouth," Zelda responded, looking straight ahead.

Soon, the music grew louder and louder. By this time, Zelda saw the remains of the campfire again. Just as she suspected, they were on the other side of the road. "Look Richter," she said, nodding her head towards the remains, "Remember seeing that earlier?"

"It's on the other side of the road," he pondered, looking at it closely.

"The Skull Kid is in possession of a strange power, but I'm not entirely sure if it's a Spirit," Zelda sighed, "I could've seen it better, but I got too caught up with the song… I suspect his Spirit made us travel backwards without making us notice a thing. Maybe the Skull Kid reflected our vision horizontally, and the barrenness of the desert made us think we were heading in the right direction."

Thinking, Richter suggested, "It must've been triggered by that creepy child's laugh… Or, it could have been when you played that song on your harmonica-thing."

"It's called an ocarina," Zelda corrected. As they began again, Zelda got an idea, "Maybe we can use that to defeat the Skull Kid."

"If his Spirit simply changes our perception, it must not be a very strong Spirit, physically speaking; he didn't even make an effort to attack us," Richter responded, "I think we'll be able to take care of the Skull Kid without distracting it with music."

Stopping her camel, Zelda turned her shoulders to face Richter, "Well, it'll make our job a whole lot easier. Besides, we don't know how powerful his Spirit actually is."

Following the music again, they arrived at the same tree stump that the Skull Kid stood and danced on during the day. However, he was no longer dancing on the stump; he floated about seven feet above the stump, the full moon serving as his backdrop, playing the same repetitive tune that he was from before. Zelda hopped off her camel, Richter closely following her, and reached inside her satchel. As her back was turned, Richter saw a dark blue figure, which was gigantic, running towards Zelda. Before he said anything, Zelda's life energy glowed and Phantom Warrior appeared behind her, smacking whatever it was in the face. It slid backwards, and eventually stood up on its hind legs. Richter summoned his own Spirit as the werewolf howled at the moon.

"I knew it was a bad idea to travel at night…" Richter muttered. He shrugged and had his hand hovering over his whip, "Take care of the Skull Kid. I'll handle this monster."

As soon as Zelda stepped towards the floating Skull Kid, who was still playing it's flute, the werewolf lunged at her. However, Son of Dracula stepped forward, seemingly teleporting, and slashed the werewolf in the chest with its blade. The werewolf drew back and swiped at the Spirit, but it transformed into a vampire bat. Quickly, it flew on the werewolf's neck and began sucking blood. After a few seconds, Son of Dracula created distance from the werewolf, and Richter himself spit its blood out. The werewolf targeted Richter next, but Son of Dracula kicked it into the sand.

Zelda slowly approached the Skull Kid, who stopped playing it's flute and looked down at Zelda curiously. Trying to reason with it, Zelda lifted up her ocarina and played the same tune. The same laugh from earlier echoed into her and Richter's ears. Suddenly, her vision shifted, seemingly returning to normal. She looked over to Richter, and his whip was again on his right side. However, the werewolf was nowhere in sight. Zelda's facial expression dropped as she looked at Richter, who looked around like a mad man.

"What the hell!? Where did that thing go?!" Richter shouted. On cue, something jumped onto his back, pinning him down. Son of Dracula, in the form of a wolf, jumped onto the invisible force, wrestling it into the sand.

"The Skull Kid turned it invisible," Zelda said. Quickly, she summoned Phantom Warrior and shouted, "Wisdom Slash!"

On command, Phantom Warrior executed the attack. The blue curved beam shout out of its sword, barreling towards the Skull Kid. However, upon impact, it changed into blue smoke. When the smoke cleared, the Skull Kid emerged, still floating above Zelda, now wearing the infamous purple mask. "Oh no…" Zelda muttered, taking a step back, "the Skull Kid's Spirit… It's Majora's Mask."

Skull Kid, with _MAJORA_'s Mask on his face, again laughed and disappeared. It reappeared behind Zelda, who spun around and sent Phantom Warrior straight for it. However, it was just out of her Spirit's range. Again, the Skull Kid laughed—said laugh piercing Zelda's ears, mocking her personally—and began playing it's flute. Zelda knew the song, quickly grabbing her own Ocarina. As rain clouds began forming, and rain began pounding onto the sand, Zelda began playing the same song, _The Song of Storms_, to combat this. However, the rain made her finger slip, and she missed a note.

Richter's fight against the invisible werewolf only grew more intense when it started to rain. Luckily for him, he could easily track the werewolf's movements as it could not hide with the rain constantly hitting it. The werewolf swung its large claws at Son of Dracula, who blocked most of the attack with its arm, but Richter felt his own arm get scratched. He made Son of Dracula teleport behind the werewolf, so it would straight at him. Richter made Son of Dracula's sword stay in the air, floating mere feet behind the werewolf. Then, just as the werewolf came within range, he revealed his whip, spinning it to gain moment, and knocked the werewolf in the head. The monster flew back, and, with Richter's command, the sword flew forward, impaling the werewolf.

As the werewolf screeched, the Skull Kid stopped playing the song and looked over, the mask blocking it's studious, curious expression. Then, just as the rain stopped by Zelda's ocarina, she started to play another song, _Oath of Order_. She played it perfectly despite that her fingers were now soaking wet. The Skull Kid's Spirit was surprised to the hear the song, and Zelda hoped to evoke some bad memories. Instead of laughs, the Skull Kid began screaming as the mask's maroon tendrils sprouted from it. The sight nearly made Richter sick, but Zelda knew that she had won. As she continued playing, Majora's tendrils separated itself from the Skull Kid, and propelled it towards Zelda. Then, Zelda stopped playing her ocarina.

"WISDOM BEAM!" she screamed, pointing her finger forward. Phantom Warrior appeared behind her and pointed its sword at the oncoming mask. The single, precisely aimed beam shot directly through the mask, abruptly stopping it. It fell onto the wet sand, its vibrant colours slowly fading away.

While Zelda ran to tend to the Skull Kid, Richter looked down at the mask under the moonlight; it was a dull purple colour, no longer looking as lively as before. He saw Zelda help the Skull Kid to its feet and talk to it.

"Maybe I should've listened to her," Richter thought to himself.

* * *

A few hours later, Richter and Zelda rode their camels down the road, towards Gerudo Town. They set out immediately after Zelda saw the Skull Kid off towards Hyrule. Since then, they had not conversed, each of them tired from their interesting battle against the Werewolf and Majora. However, as Zelda casually rested, enjoying the silence, Richter could not figure out how Zelda schemed out her victory.

As the sun rose, Richter pulled his white hood over his head. Looking down, he saw the scratches on his arm slowly healing. Finally, after hours of silence, he asked, "How did you know?"

The question caught Zelda off guard, mainly because she was inside her own tired, sleepy head. She reset and opened her shoulders to face Richter, "Sorry, what was that?"

"How did you know how to defeat the Skull Kid?" Richter asked, "You don't have the abilities of Rosalina's Co-Star, so how did you know?"

Sighing, Zelda thought for a moment, "I know my history. I'm aware of my kingdom's history, the various heroes and the adventures they went on. Skull Kids have a connection with music and masks. I guess that I just got lucky I recognized Majora's Mask."

"So that tune you played that really set him off… Is that just like a prayer or hymn you sing to exercise a demon?" Richter questioned, "Because, if you ask me, that Skull Kid did not look like a Spirit Master; besides, when you defeated that… Majora-thing, the Skull Kid didn't go down with it."

"He's not a Spirit Master; I guess Bowser's just sending literally everything and everyone he can after us," Zelda suggested, "And that song… It's called _Oath of Order_. I know that it was used to defeat Majora a long time ago, so I was hoping for that reaction."

"Well, it worked," Richter nodded, "I'm sorry I doubted you earlier."

"That's no big deal," Zelda brushed off, "I should be thanking you, really. You're the one who fought off that werewolf, which turned invisible mid-fight, and kept it distracted from me."

Smiling, Richter said, "Well, _you _were the one that made it rain suddenly. That helped me find it. I guess we make a pretty good team then, huh?"

"I guess so," she agreed, smiling back at him.

After they crossed over a hill, they saw Roy and Kirby sleeping on the ground, about forty, or so, feet away from Gerudo Town. Kirby was sleeping on his hat while Roy spooned his sword. This scene made both Richter and Zelda laugh: they needed that after almost twenty-six hours straight of journeying. "I guess they weren't allowed inside," Richter commented.

"Don't worry, I'll talk with Riju," Zelda promised, continuing to walk over while Richter hopped off his camel, "Even if it's for an hour or two, I'll get you three inside the Town."

As Roy and Kirby woke up, seeing Richter, Zelda rode her camel slowly towards the gates of Gerudo Town. Roy joyfully welcomed Richter back, as Kirby dusted off his hat and put it on. As the three talked about the past day-and-a-half's events, a brown dog arrived south of the town, overseeing Zelda's conversation with the guards at the gate and the conversation of the three further back. The dog stretched its back as a duck flew down and landed on top of it. Together, they walked toward the gates of Gerudo Town just as the sun came fully into the sky.


	9. The Lone Gunman's Trick Shot

After Zelda entered the palace, flanked on both sides by Gerudo guards, she saw the young Gerudo Chieftain sat atop a golden throne with the backdrop of the rest of the desert. The massive, in both size and muscle, guard to Zelda's left announced, "Chieftain Riju, Princess Zelda of Hyrule."

"_Sarqso_, Buliara. Can you give us some privacy, please?" Riju asked sweetly as she stood up from the throne. As the guards left the throne room slowly, Riju adjusted the massive headpiece she wore.

"It's been a long time, Riju," Zelda said with a smile, "Last time I was here, you hadn't been given Chiefdom yet."

"Well, things change quickly," she replied with a hug. After they let go, Riju began walking down the red and gold carpet, prompting Zelda to follow, "I heard about what happened to Link, and your quest. A journey that should realistically take a few weeks to accomplish has taken you much longer. Why is that?"

"Honestly, I wish I could tell you what has happened to me, and this new power I've learned, but I don't have the time," Zelda said, "I know some people I'm traveling with got here before I did. On their behalf, I want to apologize for… _Roy's _behaviour."

"He gave my guards quite a fit, but they like him," Riju joked around, slowly walking, "They like any voe who's slightly aggressive and stubborn, strangely. Regardless, I know he didn't mean anything behind it; the traveling probably has gotten to this _Roy_ a little."

"That brings me to my next request," Zelda began, clearing her throat, "It's not for a long time, only a few hours: can I bring them into the city? They need to get refreshed for the rest of our travels: two hours at the most."

Seemingly surprised by this request, Riju said, "Princess, do you know anything about the Gerudo? No _voe _has been in Gerudo Town in decades, ever since the last Gerudo male was born here."

"Chief, please" Zelda pleaded, getting closer to Riju, "It's been a difficult journey thus far, and it'll only be for a few hours. After that, we'll be out of here. We just need supplies."

After a bit of thinking, evident from Riju looking away from Zelda, she turned back around and sighed, "Urbosa forgive me for this… Okay, Princess. I trust you enough, _but only for an hour and a half_."

* * *

In the Gerudo Marketplace, there were many stands and vendors that surrounded the main sandstone road, most of which were very busy with travellers and locals. As Rosalina went to get some meats, Richter, Kirby, Roy, and Zelda sat on a sandy bench. While Roy had slumped onto the bench, with his head back looking at the sky, Richter caught several women around the market looking at them. Most of them had eyes on Roy, as his Gerudo armour revealed more skin than Richter's threads did. As he overheard some of their whispers, catching some bashful looks and reddening cheeks, he rolled his eyes as Roy was completely oblivious. "Our next stop should be a small village a few days from here. I think we can handle a couple of days trekking through the desert," Kirby said, rolling his map up and transferring it to his bag.

"Like I've said before, we shouldn't try to travel when the sun's down," Richter commented, his voice brooding and tired, "I've already had to fight a handful of vampires _and_ a werewolf in like in the two weeks we've travelled, using the very weapon meant to fight them sparingly."

"I mean, you could let one of us use that whip, can't you?" Zelda asked. She looked ahead and saw several stray dogs at one of the water fountains, trying to beat the heat of the desert.

Richter shrugged, "I've already disgraced the Belmont name by becoming more vampire than human; I'm not going to make my ancestors roll around in their graves more by giving up Vampire Killer."

"But, if you can't use it, then what's the point in having it?" Roy asked, his head still at the sky.

"I… I think you should drop this… All of you," Richter said, suddenly becoming more distant.

Before they could say anything else, Richter stood up and left, going towards the market. "What's with him?" Kirby pondered, also standing up, "He's so broody right now."

"More so than usual," Zelda said. Her attention was drawn away from their conversation, and towards the water fountain. One of the dogs, a brown one, was staring at her with a menacing gaze. Slightly spooked, Zelda tried to look away, but something about the dog compelled her to keep returning a glare. Neither the dog nor Zelda even flinched, despite what was going on around them. Their stares intensified, and Zelda began squinting. The dog slightly began imitating her in response. Then, a sudden breeze forced Zelda to blink. When her eyes opened again, the dog seemingly grinned at her and turned back to the water.

"That dog was just glaring at me so rudely," Zelda commented to the other two, however her back was turned to them.

"And?" Roy asked, still seated on the bench, "It's a dog. They tend to stare at things, Princess."

"For once, I agree with Roy's point," Kirby said, "We have other things to worry about, like the next Spirit Master that Bowser sends at us. Those are just stray dogs."

* * *

As Rosalina put a pink mask over her mouth and nose, she spun around and bumped into Richter. As she apologized, Richter adjusted his hood to cover his face. The sun was in the middle of the sky, and the heat intensified as Rosalina picked up a piece of fruit, "Did Kirby tell you where we were heading next?" Rosalina asked, putting the fruit in her bag. Before Richter responded, she handed him a durian fruit, which had been cut up.

"He mentioned a small village a few days south of here," he responded, "I told him that we have to make it a priority to travel when the sun's in the sky. There are monsters everywhere."

"I know that too well," Rosalina said with a smile. As Richter bit down into the sweet fruit, Rosalina walked down the market and saw Zelda staring at a stray dog, "How'd the journey from the Bazaar go with Zelda?"

"It was strange," he responded, "I mean, we ran into a Skull Kid, which was interesting—"

Rosalina stopped walking, turning back to Richter, "I heard that part. Zelda told me all about the Mask and the werewolf and ocarina and blah-blah-blah. I'm talking about your trip, your time spent together."

Shrugging, Richter responded, "I have no idea what you're getting on about."

"One of my Spirit's specialties is reconnaissance, but even a five-year-old could see what's going on in your head, Belmont," Rosalina smirked with a wink, as if to tease Richter, "You can deny it all you want, but I know what's really going on."

"Hmm," Richter said, turning away from her and beginning to walk, "Thanks for the durian. It was fresh."

"Yeah, sure. No problem," Rosalina responded when she turned back to Zelda.

The sight suddenly made Rosalina drop her bag and yell for her Spirit; there was an apparition behind Zelda with a gun. Rosalina pointed her hand toward Zelda and flung her arm forward, launching Co-Star towards Zelda and Kirby. As it hit them, the gun was fired, sending the market place into a frenzy. Zelda and Kirby were tackled by Co-Star, out of the line of the bullet, but Co-Star had been shot instead; Rosalina felt the bullet tear into her shoulder. She groaned in pain, falling to a knee as the travelers and vendors around her ran for cover upon hearing the gunshot.

Roy suddenly sprung up from the bench, his sword drawn and ready to fight. Zelda jumped up and summoned Phantom Warrior while Kirby stood back, looking around at the sudden chaos, "What was that?! Does somebody have a gun!?"

"Co-Star saved us from getting shot, Zelda said, seeing Richter help Rosalina to her feet as her Spirit was withdrawn, "It's not somebody with a gun… It's an Enemy Spirit."

"I can't see them anywhere!" Roy said, trying to find their enemy in the crowd of screaming, running people. As a Hylian accidentally bumped into him, Roy was tripped by somebody else trying to escape the market. Acting quickly, Kirby worked his way back to Roy, helping him back to his feet. And, at that moment, Zelda saw the same dog from before, standing by the fountain while the rest of the dogs scattered. Immediately, Zelda looked up and saw a duck perched on a nearby palm tree.

"It can't be… That stupid dog!" Zelda exclaimed, clenching her fist while her life energy began glowing around her, "Phantom Warrior! Wisdom Slash!"

As Phantom Warrior appeared in front of her, readying it's attack, the apparition appeared again. It quickly fired and barely missed Phantom Warrior's throat, wounding its trapezius. However, Zelda stood completely still as she felt the bullet wound her. Her own attack did not hit the Spirit or the Spirit Master; she did not take long enough to get a clean shot off.

"Dammit, Phantom Warrior isn't precise enough to hit it from this distance," Zelda said, thinking aloud.

Things in the marketplace calmed down: it was completely abandoned except for the Spirit Masters, Roy, Kirby, and a few guards that watched from a distance. What kept them at bay was the dog's Spirit, which shot at them to keep them out of the fight. Things were at a stand-still, as Zelda glared at the dog, trying to think. Phantom Warrior was now behind her, as the dog had its own Spirit behind him. Richter helped Rosalina go back towards the group and was sat down onto the bench that Roy had used to stand back up.

"That dog blended into plain sight," Rosalina told them, one of her hands pressed down onto her wound, "If you didn't recognize him, I don't blame you: my Co-Star couldn't either, without that duck on top of his back either."

"That dog is the Spirit Master?" Roy asked, spinning his sword around.

"_That dog _and the duck near it is the Duck Hunt Duo," Rosalina told them, "During the chaos, Co-Star analyzed their Spirits: the dog's Spirit is THE LONE GUNMAN_… _It's a long-range Spirit, with a quick and incredible precise shot. The duck's Spirit is TRICK SHOT… From what Co-Star could find, it's just a tin can that upon impact, it generates a powerful explosion."

"So, only one of their Spirits have been shown," Roy said, "What should we do?"

"I can't get close to that stupid dog," Zelda said, "My longer-range attacks take too long to execute, especially if I want them to be precise; when he sees me attack, he'll shoot me dead. The only reason why he didn't do that earlier is because he wanted to show me how fast and accurate his Spirit is."

"I can distract him while you get your attack ready," Roy suggested, stepping in front of Zelda. However, just as he showed himself, the duck began flying around. Then, the sounds of a drawstring releasing filled the quiet marketplace. Apparently, one of the guards tried to take out the duck with a bow. All eyes went to the origin place of the sound, the roof of an inn, and Kirby saw a tin can appear out of nowhere in the sky.

"There it is! The duck's Spirit!" Kirby shouted, pointing at the sky. It apparently moved around more arrows, which were fired at it, as it drew closer to the roof at incredible speeds, "Impossible… The Spirit is dodging the arrows with such precision and speed… The duck must be controlling every single one of its movements."

"What agility…" Roy commented, admiring it somewhat. Then, the tin can hit the roof; like Rosalina said, the explosion it generated was massive. The sound made the five cover their ears, and the light made them look away and shield their eyes. After a second, the roof was mostly gone, and what remained was blackened.

"These are two dangerous Spirits when working together," Richter said, "And I don't know if I can summon Son of Dracula in this environment… It's midday."

"Don't worry about it," Zelda said, her determination breaking through her voice, "I don't think The Lone Gunman is a good match-up for my Phantom Warrior, so I'll go after the duck."

Suddenly, more Gerudo guards tried to pour into the marketplace, only to be shot at by The Lone Gunman, who appeared in the Marketplace: it turned to each entrance, firing at the guards with a quick shot, but purposely not wounding any of them. The dog shot a cocky grin at the five while the duck made his approach. It stopped above Zelda and summoned Trick Shot.

"Roy, Richter, go keep those idiots from getting hurt," Kirby suggested, looking at the entrances. Then, he heard a "tink" noise: the duck was aiming Trick Shot.

Zelda quickly moved and pointed her arm towards the can, "Wisdom Beam!"

Just as Phantom Warrior moved and pointed its sword where Zelda wanted it to, The Lone Gunman took aim at her. Then, Rosalina jumped up from the bench and shouted, "Co-Star! Star Bit Shot!"

Just as Co-Star defended Phantom Warrior, The Lone Gunman did not make a move. Rosalina too relented, and their exchange turned into a standoff; each of the Spirits stayed completely still while their Masters stared and waited for any slight movement. In the skies above them, the duck moved manoeuvred the free-falling Trick Shot. However, Zelda's beam still hit the can, and it exploded in the sky, though not as intensely as before. "Good thinking, Zelda," Kirby commented, "By anticipating where the duck is moving the can, you can destroy it before it makes a deadly impact with something solid!"

As Zelda sent a few attacks towards the duck, trying to knock it out of the sky, Kirby saw Roy and Richter plead with a few of the guards at various entrances to get away. Their conversations were short, but some of the guards had cursed them out and blamed the "_voes_" for the destruction of their marketplace. Another tin can had caught Kirby's attention, and Zelda fired another beam at the sky, but her anticipation was wrong this time; the duck let out a laugh in its clever manoeuvring.

"It's going to take a few seconds for Zelda to get it another precise shot," Kirby thought aloud, as Zelda held her breath, and put her hand to her side, "By my estimations, she'll have one more chance to knock that Spirit out of the sky. If she misses, then we're dead… Come on, Zelda… Take the shot."

Suddenly, Kirby got an idea from viewing the duck. "Wait… While the duck focuses on moving Trick Shot, it stays completely still…"

Luckily for Kirby, Zelda screamed for her attack and blew the can up mere feet above their heads. She panted and wiped sweat, preparing for another fleury of attacks. However, Kirby stopped her as he picked up a rock, "When the duck summons its Spirit, it stays completely still; his focus is completely on the can, not itself."

Nodding, Zelda looked up at the duck, which taunted her with its facial expressions, "Okay… If I can take that stupid duck out in time, the can won't fall fast enough to hit the ground."

"Or," Kirby said, showing her the stone, "I don't need to hit the can, I just need to make him focus on it."

Before they could talk more, the duck summoned Trick Shot, and the can descended quickly. Knowing they only had a few seconds to make this work, Zelda prepared her Spirit to attack. Kirby launched the stone, barely missing the Spirit when the duck moved it. As the duck laughed, Zelda looked up towards the sky, "Got you now. Wisdom Beam!"

The beam, precisely aimed at the still duck, hit it directly in the head. As it fell quickly towards the ground, Rosalina looked over, as did the dog. Zelda withdrew Phantom Warrior and sighed in relief. She looked down at Kirby and said, "Quick thinking, Kirby. Looks like you still got it, huh?"

Suddenly, they heard the dog start growling and barking aggressively; it was angry at them for their defeat of the duck. Then, The Lone Gunman appeared and took aim. However, Co-Star was already out and Rosalina raised two fingers towards the sky, making her Spirit fire a focused version of her earlier attack. The focused attack was executed with great speed, faster than the dog's Spirit's draw. The Star Bits struck The Lone Gunman in the chest with incredibly speed, launching it and it's the Spirit Master back. The dog smacked into the wall hard, and The Lone Gunman disappeared when the dog hit the ground. There was no visible wound on it, but the dog was hurt. It slowly rose to its feet and glared at Rosalina.

"Guess I have the faster draw," Rosalina said, looking at Zelda and Kirby smiling.

"Together, those Spirits can be terrifying, but separated, they're just terrible," Zelda said, her confidence outwardly showing now. Rosalina, Zelda, and Kirby approached the dog, who jumped at Kirby. However, Co-Star appeared and grabbed it with its small stubs. Then, Zelda gave the dog a slap on the nose. The dog looked at Zelda and snarled at her. This time, Zelda's life energy began glowing and Phantom Warrior appeared, "I'm not one for hurting animals, but I'll do what I have to do. Your friend, that damn duck, I didn't want to do that to him. But, I did what I had to do to survive. I didn't have a chance to reason with it."

For added intimidation, Zelda used Phantom Warrior's blade to slice the dog's collar off, but in a way that did not wound him. "Do I have your attention now?" Zelda asked, crossing her arms. The dog stopped growling and snarling; now it just stared at Zelda with beady eyes, "Since we have no way of destroying your Spirit without killing you, we're not going to kill you. But, if you so much as look at me, or any of my friends again, I will not hesitate to put Phantom Warrior's blade through you. Understand?"

The dog kept staring at her. Zelda looked at Rosalina, who withdrew Co-Star. The moment the dog's feet hit the ground, it ran down the alley as fast it could. When the dog was out of sight, Rosalina began chuckling, as did Kirby. Zelda looked at them, trying to bring herself down from that intensity, and Rosalina said, "That dog is definitely never using his Spirit ever again."

* * *

In the hours that followed the encounter with the Duck Hunt Duo, Zelda and Rosalina were permitted access into the Chief's palace to get their wounds patched up. Richter, Roy, and Kirby waited for them outside of Gerudo Town, standing next to their camels. "That's the first time I've ever been truly terrified by a dog and a duck," Richter said, leaning on his camel as he adjusted his hood.

"But, at the end of the day, it was just a dog," Kirby added, looking at the road ahead of them: it was simply more rolling hills of sand, and a few rocky areas in the distance, "The moment the duck was defeated, he crumbled and his will to fight snapped."

Sighing, Richter said, "Mine would be too, if I saw my best friend die in battle."

Kirby put the map down and looked at the camel behind Richter, where Roy had been resting. However, Roy was nowhere to be seen. Then, Kirby _heard_ Roy, seemingly arguing with the town's guards at the gate. "Oh good grief," Kirby shook his head in disappointment, "Roy's got into _another_ argument with the town's guards."

"I don't think it's an argument, Kirby," Richter told. When Kirby looked at Richter, Richter scoffed, "Really? A man as well-travelled as you ought to be more observant of your surroundings; all morning before that scuffle, all I heard were women and girls gushing over Roy's armour and looks. His grandeur alone made many women, of all ages and races, melt at the sight of him in the marketplace."

"You have… An interesting way of words, Belmont," Kirby commented.

* * *

"Thank you for everything, Riju," Zelda smiled as she stretched out her shoulder, which had been wrapped with many bandages. Rosalina had her sky blue dress on now, no longer wearing Gerudo-inspired clothing anymore. Like Zelda, Rosalina's shoulder had a massive bandage on it, "I'm sorry about that fight in the marketplace."

"What was going on, anyway?" Riju asked, standing with the two travellers as her bodyguard, Buliara, shadowed her. Rosalina was in shock by the sheer size of her bodyguard, as she was almost a full foot taller than she, "All the reports from my guards said that there were random explosions and a standoff with a dog and your friend."

"It's a long story, really," Zelda said, trying to be as brief as possible, "It would take too long to explain it to you… Speaking of which, have you found that dog yet?"

"I can assure you that the dog will never be caught," Riju responded, "One blemish on this city is our stray animal problem. But, if what my guards tell me about your battle is true, the dog won't be a problem. It sounded like you, more or less, beat it into becoming submissive through whatever methods you two use to fight."

"Next time I come through here, I'll tell you all about it," Zelda promised.

Smiling, Riju said, "Make sure it's soon. The leaders of Gerudo Valley and Hyrule need to have a good rapport, you know."

Again, Zelda promised, "It won't be as long as last time."

With that, Riju and Zelda hugged, and Rosalina followed Zelda out of the palace. The sun was still fairly high in the sky, so they could get a fair bit of traveling down before sunset. "You two seem like good friends," Rosalina commented.

"We were, but we only talked through letters, unfortunately," Zelda told with a tired sigh, "I haven't seen or talked to her in years, mainly because of the War Against Dharkon and Galeem…"

When they got to the gates of Gerudo Town, they saw Roy waiting, standing proudly with his sword at his side. "You two sure took your time, didn't you?" Roy remarked.

"I was chatting with an old friend. Sorry I took so long," Zelda said back, approaching her camel. When Richter helped her up, Rosalina smirked at him. And, when Richter saw her face, he shrugged and groaned quietly, annoyed.

"Our next stop should take about three or four days of travel," Kirby told them, struggling with his words as he climbed onto his camel. When he was finally on top of it, he adjusted his hat, "After that, we'll be a day or two away from the coast."

"Alright, let's get moving," Roy said. As they began to move, Zelda heard one of the Gerudo guards at the gates shout something.

"_Sav'orq_, Roy!" she shouted, waving longingly towards Roy.

Roy grinned while he waved back. He turned back to the road and said, "Strange that they suddenly became nicer to me instead of angry. I wonder why that is…"

"My God, you're such a dumbass," Richter muttered, covering his face with his white hood as they moved down the road.


End file.
